Astral Dueling Conference
by AZEAngelicOne
Summary: A tournament is being held in Heartland City, and many eager duelists from all over have come to participate! But what could happen...? Rated T for suggestive humor and violence. Implied Parings inside. Post-Zexal, Post-Arc-V (ALTERNATE CANON) AU
1. The Tournament Begins

I don't own YGO. I'm just an 18-year old writer. Also, if I get some details wrong about Arc-V, I'm just in the early episodes.

* * *

It was a typical day in Heartland City. Well, as about as typical a day could be for Yuma Tsukumo. Ever since the Numbers were all collected and Astral disappeared, the world went back to normal. Astral left Utopia with him, and went back to the Astral World, the world had become more peaceful.

Speaking of Yuma... where is he right now?

"Zzzzz..."

As he slept in his hammock, Emperor's Key around his neck (as per usual), the 14-year old would then dream about an old friend...

(Dream)

 _ **"Yuma..."**_ a voice called out. Yuma turned to the source of the voice, only to see Astral floating in an empty space.

 _"Astral!"_ Yuma called out. He tried to run after the Astral being, but then he found that he couldn't move. _"What the..."_ At this point, Astral floated away from Yuma, which only drove the teen to run after him even harder.

 _ **"Don't worry. I will never leave, Utopia is proof of that, Yuma. Yuma... "**_

"YUMA!"

(Dream end)

At that moment, Yuma would fall out of his hammock, waking him up from his dream. As he sat up, he would rub the back of his head. "Ouch..." He opened his eyes to see his older sister, Akari. "B-Big sister?! What'd you do that for?"

"Listen Yuma, Mom and Dad might not be here, but you still have to answer to me! Now, breakfast is on the table, and I need to go out today." Akari stated, almost forgetting something. "Oh yeah, Yuma, this letter came for you yesterday." Yuma took the letter from his sister.

"That's weird, I wasn't expecting a letter from anybody... I wonder who it's from." Yuma mentally wondered. He opened the letter, it read the following:

 **ATTENTION DUELISTS!**

 **Do you want to be recognized as the best of the best? Do you want to show off your impeccable duelist skill? Then, sign up for the Astral Dueling Conference! Meet us at Heartland Square This Sunday at 2:30 P.M. Hope to see you there!**

Yuma looked at the letter in surprise. Since Astral had left for the Astral World, he had not dueled seriously in the longest time. "Should I do this..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the country...

 **Yuya LP: 1500 Hand: 0**

 **Serena LP: 2000 Hand: 4**

Yuya's Field: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Performapal Sword Fish, Performapal Trampolynx  
Pendulum Zones: Timegazer Magician (Scale 8) & Stargazer Magician (Scale 1)  
1 Facedown Card

Serena's Field: Lunalight Cat Dancer, Lunalight Blue Cat

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon  
ATK: 2500  
✩ x 7

Performapal Sword Fish  
DEF: 600  
✩x 2

Performapal Trampolynx

DEF: 300

✩x 2

Lunalight Cat Dancer

ATK: 2400

✩ x 7

Lunalight Blue Cat

ATK: 1600

x 4

"And now," Serena began. "With the Scale 1 Lunalight Wolf and the Scale 5 Lunalight Tiger, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!" She laid down the cards on her duel disk as the words "PENDULUM" lit up on her duel disk in rainbow-colored letters. Her monsters ascended into the air, inside pillars of light, and the numbers "1" and "5" appeared under them.

Up in the viewing room, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri were watching the duel, when Yuri chuckled.

"It's amazing, isn't it? Not only is Serena experienced in Fusions, she's also excelling as a Pendulum user as well!" Yuri commented, complementing the Fusion girl. "And here, I thought she'd never be able to master the ability like Yuya did..." Yuri continued, as he put his cheek in his hand, and half-lidded his eyes.

"Well, Yuri," Yuto began. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were falling in love..." The Xyz user then began to snicker.

Yuri shot him a nasty glare, and nearly yelled, "What did you say?!"

Back at the duel, Serena's Pendulum summoning continued. "With this, I can Summon monsters with Levels 2 through 4! Pendulum Summon!" Serena threw her hand up at the last line, and above the two duelists, a portal opened up, with 2 purple beams of light descended onto the field. "Lunalight Purple Butterfly and Lunalight Black Sheep!" Serena declared, as the Lunar monsters formed from light.

Lunalight Black Sheep

DEF: 600

✩x 2

Lunalight Purple Butterfly

ATK: 1000

✩x 3

Yuya breathed as he took in a minute to see the monsters on the Fusion Girl's field. "Amazing..."

"I activate Purple Butterfly's Effect!" Serena exclaimed as her monster began to glow. "When I send this monster to the graveyard, any Lunalight Monsters that I choose gain 1000 Attack Points! And I'm letting those points go to good use by putting them on Cat Dancer!" Purple Butterfly was destroyed, but its remains were absorbed into Serena's Cat Dancer.

Lunalight Cat Dancer

ATK: 3400

"It's got more Attack Points than Odd-Eyes!" Yuya exclaimed.

"And next, I'll tribute Lunalight Black Sheep to activate my monster's effect!" She stated as her Black Sheep dissapated. "Because I tributed a Lunalight monster this turn, I can attack all of your monsters twice!" Serena stated, making Yuya react. "Magic Card, activate! Lunar Eclipse!" The magic card formed on the field. "Because of this card, My monsters cannot be targeted by Spells or Traps!" Yuya was taken aback by this situation. "Battle! Lunalight Cat Dancer, attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Serena exclaimed, as the monster rushed toward the heterochromatic eyed creature. "Full Moon... Crest!" An image of the moon appeared behind it, as the monster raised it's scepter, and pointed it at Odd-Eyes, destroying the red dragon.

"EEEEEEEEEGGGGHHHHHH!" Yuya exclaimed, as his monster was destroyed, sending him flying.

 **Serena LP: 2000 - WIN**

 **Yuya LP: 0**

The solid vision faded, as Serena walked over to the green-redhead and outstretched her hand to Yuya. "Need a hand?" Yuya smiled as he was picked up by the Fusion girl. "Thanks. I really didn't think that you could beat me like that!"

Yuya's counterparts walked over, with Yuri clapping. "Amazing! Serena, you are simply amazing!" The Fusion girl would only shoot a mean glare at him, before turning her attention to Yuya again.

"Come on, we need to keep practicing." Serena stated, readying her duel disk once more.

"Why do you keep dueling? This is about the 10th time in a row you've dueled each other! What is this going to accomplish?" Yuto asked.

Yuya would pull a sheet out of paper, showing it to his counterparts. The main print for the letter read:

 **ATTENTION DUELISTS!**

 **Do you want to be recognized as the best of the best? Do you want to show off your impeccable duelist skill? Then, sign up for the Astral Dueling Conference! Meet us at Heartland Square This Sunday at 2:30 P.M. Hope to see you there!**

"That's why we want to get in as much practice as possible!" Yuya explained. "Yuzu's entering, and so is Sora, Reiji and even Shun!" Yuto just looked at him, saying, "Well, this all sounds well and good, but this says that for the qualifying rounds, people will be split up into teams of 4."

"I know that!" Yuya chirped. "That's why I signed up you, Yugo, and Yuri for us to work together in the preliminaries!" As he was saying this, he respectively pointed to each of his counterparts.

"Wait, hold on!" Serena butted in, interrupting Yuya. "You've already signed yourselves for a team, but me and Yuzu haven't! What's gonna happen to us?"

Yuya wondered, and after a bit, he concluded to the fact that, "Maybe they'll put you two in a random group!" Serena just looked at him with a stoic face. "What if these people I'm put in a group with a bunch of weirdos?"

Yuri took the fusion girl's hand while getting down on one knee, saying, "I'd protect you, my moon goddess..." However, while leaning in to kiss her hand, Yuri was met by the bottom of Serena's boot.

"Hmph. As long as I'm not on a team with that, I think I'll be okay." Serena sneered, pointing at the downed Yuri, as everyone else would just laugh at the scene.

* * *

That Sunday...

Yuma arrived at the scene where the tournament was being held, and saw a bunch of duelists, and seeing them instantly had him mesmerized by the amount of people there. "Wow..." the young boy mused. "Am I going to have to beat all these people?..."

"Yuma!" a female called out. Yuma tuned his head to see Kotori, Shark, and Kaito all standing in one place, with Kotori waving to him. Yuma ran up to them saying, "You guys are here, too?"

Shark rubbed the back of his head, and explained "Well, after figuring out that you would probably be here, Kotori called used the both of us, and signed us all up to be on the same team."

"Wait, so-" Yuma began, but was cut off by the loud roars of: "HOLD IIIIIIIIIIT!" a teenaged boy, dressed in a orange t-shirt and baggy pants, with hair colored red and green in what could only be described as a tomato, and a pair of goggles resting on his head (one lens had a blue star on it), with ran to the square with 3 other boys, all apparently the same age running beside him.

The one on his right was wearing a red scarf on his arm, layers of black-purple hair, a dull green formal shirt and dark blue tie, as well as a black cape-like garment with ripped sleeves and edges plus dark blue pants and black boot-like shoes.

The boy on his left wore a white jacket with red borders and yellow stripes on the sleeves, along with a white jumpsuit that had red, blue, and yellow stripes that met in the center in a chevron pattern, white gloves, shoulder, elbow and knee pads, and white, red, and gray boots, and blue-yellow dual-colored hair that swept to the right in several bangs.

The final boy, on his far right, had two-toned violet and pink hair, wearing a sort of officers' uniform, consisting of a purple and light blue waistcoat, pink cravat, a two-part cape of red and purple.

"Damn it, Yuya, you should have waken us up earlier!" the dark-haired boy griped.

The redhead, named Yuya, had shot the boy a glare. "Well, sorry that I had to perfect my deck for this moment!" He turned away from him. "What, do you want me to lose that badly?" he said, muttering under his breath. As they approached the gate, Yuya held up his middle and index finger, forming the peace sign, whilst saying, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"

This made almost everyone in the arena turn towards him, most looking confused, many looking shocked. "The greatest team from Miami City has arrived to claim victory! Team Sakaki has... arrived!" Somehow, confetti rained down on the four boys, while everyone just stared in bewilderment.

"A lot of colorful characters here, aren't there?" Kaito said, looking at the four boys.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" a new voice rang out.

"Hey, who the hell's stealing my catchphrases?" Yuya griped, as that voice rung all too familiar to Yuma. "Could it be...?" the red-eyed duelist breathed. Out from the curtain, there was a mohawked blue and white being, covered with green markings, with white and gold heterochromatic eyes, and wearing a crown of sorts. "Welcome, honorable duelists!"

"ASTRAL?!" Yuma, Shark, Kaito, and Kotori all cried out. Yuya however, was taken aback by this. "Huh? Who's that?

"That's Astral." Yuto replied. "In my dimension, he was one of the people who led the charge against the Fusion Dimension, before Shun took over."

"We are all gathered here today for one reason!" Astral made a dramatic pause. "...To develop bonds through dueling!" the crowd cheered at that line, before Astral held his hand up, asking them to be quiet. "The qualification round of the tournament is simple." Astral held up 3 medals, from smallest to largest, all colored copper, silver, and gold respectively. All of the medals had a picture of the Emperor's Key on them. "These medals I hold in my hand are called Astral Medals. For each medal you get, the closer you are to qualifying to the tournament stage!" Astral explained. "Copper Medals are worth 1 medal, Silver are 2 medals, and Gold are 5 medals. The minimum amount of medals you are required to have are 20."

Astral looked out to the crowd. Then he saw a familiar face. _**"Yuma..."**_ he then continued stating the rules, such as: "When you start the preliminary round, you will start with 5 medals, and if you have 0, you are eliminated." Astral continued. **"Each duelist will be paired into teams of 4, as shown here:"**

 **(A/N: I'M ONLY SHOWING THE ONES THAT MATTER, OKAY? Okay.)**

 **Team 1 - Yuma Tsukumo, Ryoga Kamishiro, Kotori Mizuki, Kaito Tenjo  
Team 2 - Yuya Sakaki, Yuto Sakaki, Yugo Sakaki, Yuri Sakaki  
Team 3 - Vector, Girag, Alit, Mizael  
Team 4 - Sora Shiun'in, Haruto Tenjo, Mieru Hochun, Reira Akaba  
Team 5 - Noboru Gogenzaka, Futoshi Harada, Ayu Ayukawa, Tatsuya Yamashiro  
Team 6 - Shingo Sawatari, Hokuto Shijima, Kotsu Masumi, Yaiba Todo  
Team 7 - Rio Kamishiro, Yuzu Hiragi, Anna Kouzuki, Fuya Okudaira  
Team 8 - Chris Arclight, Michael Arclight, Thomas Arclight, Serena Hiragi  
Team 9 - Tetsuo Takeda, Cathy, Takashi Todoroki, Tokunosuke Omoteura  
Team 10 - Gauche, Droite, Reiji Akaba, Shun Kurosaki**

All the duelists gasped as they saw who they were paired up with, and Astral smiled. **"And just for a little fun..."** he brought out the Numeron Code, which contained all the Numbers cards.

"Wait..." Yuma breathed.

"What is he doing?" Yuto asked, urgency clearly in his voice.

 **"As officiator of this tournament... I release the Numbers!"** Astral exclaimed, which made everyone else go, "WHAT?!" Astral let out a small chuckle, before continuing with, "Just kidding." this made some people groan, and most sigh in relief.

 _ **"But... I have released a few Numbers cards, just to shake things up in this tournament."**_ Astral smugly though to himself, as he then went over to a calendar, showing that the current week was highlighted. "As you see here, you have one week to qualify for the tournament." Astral once again smiled. **"Now, I think I've kept you all waiting long enough!"** the Astral being shot his hand up, pointing at the skies. **"Duelists, show me your power! Become the champions that you were bred to become!"** Astral's pointed finger became a closed fist. **"Now, let the duels..."** Astral shot his hand down. **"BEGIN!"**


	2. Enter: Anna Kouzuki!

**Astral Dueling Conference  
Chapter 2-**

 **SuperDreadnought Barrel Staredown?! Yuya vs. Anna**

* * *

The four Sakaki brothers looked at their each of their five bronze medals, and Yugo asked, "So, how exactly are we gonna get 20 medals by the end of the week?" the brothers, sans Yuto, cupped their chins in thought.

Yuri then had a lightbulb moment. "It's simple isn't it?" The 3 boys then looked at the fusion specialist. "One of us only needs 20 of these medal things to qualify, right? So what if we give them all to someone - Say, for the sake of example, ME, and then just enter the tournament that way?" Yuri explained, while 2 of his brothers looked extremely pissed.

"But how are WE supposed to qualify for the tournament, you stupid fusion monkey?" Yugo hissed.

"For someone who claims to be a 'king', you sure don't care about your loyal subjects, do you?!" Yuya seethed, as Yuto simply said, "It's impossible." Yuto had closed the book he was reading, which was the rules to the tournament, before stating: "'Astral Medals can only change hands when someone wins or loses a duel. If an Astral Medal is taken or traded through any other means other than dueling, that person will under contention for disqualification from the tournament'."

After Yuto explained the rules, the brothers went back to staring at the 4 quintets of bronze medals. Yuya started to scratch his head in frustration, before letting out a huge groan, making his brothers would then turn their heads toward the Pendulum innovator, while he continued on by saying, "This week is gonna be a long one... I can feel it..."

Yuto walked over, to say, "Yuya, don't worry about it. there are still other medals to get, remember?" That's when Yugo's face lit up in realization. "Oh yeah! That Astral guy told us about that, didn't he? He said that there are Silver and Gold Medals, and each of them gets us closer to the finals, right?" Yugo asked. "With that, we can meet all the qualifications, and in no time flat!"

Yuya and Yuri smiled, while Yuto once again stated, "That's impossible." Opening up the rule book, he read: 'Silver and Gold Medals are either hidden in "selected places", or entrusted with "official duelists".' Yuto closed the book again. But at this point, Yuya, Yugo, and Yuri had been getting excited over the prospect of gaining medals, Yuto just sighed, not believing his brothers could act this way.

Meanwhile, on a tall building, someone had a weapon, and they pointed it straight at the crimson-eyed duelist. They pulled the trigger on the weapon, which got Yuto's attention, as well as his brothers.

"Yuya!" Yuto tackled Yuya, getting him out of the way of the projectile, while Yuri and Yugo jumped out of the way.

The person who fired said, "Damn. Missed him."

Yuya looked at the crater in the ground and said, "Whoa... I didn't know this city had Solid Vision pre-installed!" Yuto looked down at his brother, saying, "Yuya, wake up! This is a real situation going on!" Yuya realized what his brother was saying, just before the assailant fired another projectile.

"Again?" Yuto picked up Yuya, and the Sakaki brothers began to run, just as an explosion went off behind them.

"Alright, Yuya, how many enemies did you make Heartland and how?" Yuto asked, still running. "None! I swear! And even if I did, I haven't even known anyone in this city long enough to hate them! or to get them to hate me..."

"Well, look on the bright side! At least the person who was shooting at us can't chase us!" Yugo stated, as, at that moment, the perpetrator got on their weapon and flew after the quartet. The three boys looked at him, and Yugo sweatdropped.

"Well, let's try and split up! Wherever we go, that thing can't possibly get all of us!" Yuri suggested, and they split up into 3 (with Yuto STILL carrying Yuya).

"You can try and split up, but I know what I'm after." the person said, while still going after Yuto. Yuto saw this, and then thought to himself, _"Maybe if I'll lose that person if I go places they won't expect..."_

But he didn't lose them...

Not in the flower shop...

Not in the bath house (which was hard get through with Yuto and Yuya blushing throughout)...

Not in the (empty) school...

Not even underground...

The final place was on top of one of the buildings, and when Yuto and Yuya got to the top, they saw...

Yugo and Yuri, playing Uno. Yuri turned his head towards him, saying, "'Sup, bro? Wanna play?"

Yuto's surprised look turned into an angry glare, as he practically yelled, "Don't 'Sup bro' me! Do not understand the magnitude of this situation that we're in? There is a homicidal maniac chasing us, and they could find us at any minu-!"

"It's too late for that!" A female voice called out, interrupting Yuto. The brothers turned around to see the person that had been chasing them, standing on her weapon, which was a cannon-bazooka of sorts. They had finally got a good look at the girl, who was dressed in a pink and white shirt, reaching below her waist, black pants and a pair of boots, the same colors as her shirt. She also had red-orange hair, which Yuri likened to Jaden Yuki.

As the girl hopped off her cannon, Yuto readied his duel disk, sensing that there was a fight coming. The girl just walked straight past Yuto, and straight over to Yuya, leaning in just close enough so that there was an inch of distance between them. she took off her goggles, revealing her yellow eyes.

"I found you... Yuya." the girl said, with a light blush on her face. This got the attention of his brothers, who all screamed,"EEEHHHHH?!"

Yuri rushed over to his brother, and asked him urgently, "Yuya, you know this girl?!"

"What? Of course not!"

"Then why is she acting like she knows you?! She even knew your name!"

"How should I know?" Yuya looked away from Yuri at this point. Then, 3 other people came onto the roof. They were Fuya Okudaira, Yuzu Hiragi, and Rio Kamishiro.

"Anna, please! Stop this!" Fuya pleaded. "He's not the Yuya you know!"

"Shut up, Fuya! I know who my Yuya is, and now, he's come back to me in an answered prayer!" the girl, known as Anna, said, as she crushed Yuya in a hug.

"Y-Yeah, the thing is... I don't even know who you are." Yuya said, sheepishly. Then, the air went silent. Anna got out her bazooka and pointed it straight at Yuya's face. But then, right as she was about to fire, Yuto stood on the teenage girl's weapon, saying, "Okay, I'm done playing hide and go seek. So I'll give you 2 choices. You drop your weapon, and calmly tell us why you're chasing Yuya, or you can fire the damn thing, and I unleash what you do to my brother on YOU. Tenfold. What's your pick?"

Anna thought for a bit, glaring into the Xyz user's cold, hardened eyes, before going, "Tch." She put her weapon down, and begun with, "It started in grade school..."

* * *

*Flashback* (bold text is Anna narrarating)

A young Yuya was eating lunch by himself, then Anna flew in out of nowhere and kicked him in the face. **"I did a lot of things to get your attention."** Yuya was then crying because his duel disk was broken. **"From destroying your duel disk..."** Young Yuya was then placed into the back of an Ambulance. **"I even pushed you off the jungle gym once!"**

*End Flashback*

* * *

"Maybe the reason I don't remember any of this crap is because I either got a concussion, or I deeply repressed it." Yuya muttered, under his breath, which made Anna glare at him. In turn, Yuto glared at her, saying, "CONTINUE. NOW.

* * *

*Flashback*

A young Anna was shown on the top of a hill, holding a umbrella, wearing a white dress with a red ribbon at the waist. **"One day, I wanted you to meet me at the top of a hill, because I wanted to tell you a secret, one that I had been hiding from you forever."** time passed, and Anna was alone on the hill. **"But you never came."** The young Anna had tears streaming down her face, which then turned to anger.

*End Flashback*

* * *

Anna then pointed straight at Yuya. "And now that you're here, I can finally get my revenge on you!" She readied her cannon again, making Yuto stand on his guard. "You're gonna pay for leaving me!" She armed girl then felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around and saw her teammate, Yuzu.

"That's impossible!" Yuzu objected. "Yuya's never even been to Heartland!" then the pinkette raised an eyebrow. "You _haven't_ been to Heartland, right?"

"Of course not! I've lived in Miami my whole life!" Yuya objected. "And besides, even if I did come to Heartland, why would I befriend some crazy girl who tries to kill me after not showing up at some hill?"

Yuto widened his eyes in realization. "Wait." He put his hand in front of his brother. "You said that, in the past, you wanted to tell Yuya a 'secret'. What was it?"

"Well, I-... I, um..." Anna was blushing in embarrassment now, by which Yuto responded by walking up to her, narrowing his eyes, and simply saying, "TALK." Anna's face lit up as red as a tomato, as she spat out the words,

"I LOVE YOU YUYA!"

Everyone there stopped to stare at the girl, and was utterly shocked at what came out of the armed girl's mouth. Yuzu was the most shocked by this revelation.

"I don't even know who you are!" Yuya said, angering the girl once more.

"Alright, that's it! If you can't remember me, I'll just have to make you... through a duel, that is!" Anna told the boy, pointing directly at him. She got out two of her Astral Medals. "If you win, you can take two of these!"

Yuto readied his duel disk once more, before Yuya walked straight past him. "Don't, Yuto." He turned toward his brother with a smile. "It's obviously me she wants." He turned back towards Anna and brought out 3 Astral Medals. "Alright, I'll put up 3 of these babies up for grabs!"

Anna smirked. "Oh, and Yuya? If you lose, you have to join my team, AND become my partner!" Anna explained, blushing at the last part, while Yuya just grimaced.

"Duel Disk, set!" Anna's duel disk, which was shaped almost like a butterfly, and colored like her clothes, was thrown in the air, and clicked onto her wrist as it came down. "D-Gazer, set!" Anna's D-Gazer flipped onto her face. **"SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED."** the Augmented Reality System said, as Fuya's D-Gazer flipped onto his face as well, while Rio's eye just turned red.

Yuya's goggles flashed as he placed his Duel Disk on his wrist, putting Duel Mode on standby, and placed his cards in the deck slot, shuffling it. He revealed his card tray, signifying he was ready.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuya LP: 4000**

 **VS**

 **Anna LP: 4000**

"All right! Show that crazy chick who's boss, Yuya!" Yugo cheered.

Fuya just sighed. "How troublesome... I can't believe she's doing this again..." This got Yuzu's attention, as she thought, _"Again?"_

"You can have the first move, but you cant draw a card. Think you can handle that, big man?" Anna taunted.

Yuya only smirked. "I've faced bigger odds than you can imagine. It's my turn!" Yuya looked at his hand. _"Not a lot of moves I can make right away... might as well go with a classic!"_ Yuya thought, before pulling a card from his hand. "I summon Performapal Hip Hippo in Attack Mode!" Yuya placed the card down, and a pink hippo dressed in a vest and top hat appeared, as the hippo took off it's hat, as if to say hello.

Performapal Hip Hippo  
ATK: 800  
✩ x 3

Anna just stared at his monster in bewilderment, before laughing uncontrollably. "THAT'S the best you could do for a monster? How badly did you get hit on the head when I was chasing you around?"

"Don't underestimate the power of my cards! I set 2 cards facedown! Turn End!" Yuya said, his two facedowns forming.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Anna drew a card. "I summon Ruffian Railcar in Attack Mode!" A portal opened up, and through it, a red train with the lead car's face being... manic emerged.

Ruffian Railcar  
ATK: 1800  
✩ x 4

"I activate Ruffian Railcar's effect! Once per turn, I can 500 points of direct damage to you!" Anna explained.

"WHAT?!" Yuya cried. The railcar started to rush toward Yuya at a breakneck pace, barely even being seen. "ACK!" Yuya was knocked back by the force of the blow.

 **Yuya LP: 4000 -** **3500**

"Yuya!" Yuzu called out. Rio took her arm, telling her, "Don't worry about him. He can stand on his own." Yuzu looked at the Barian, trying to reassure herself, before turning her attention to the duel.

"However, due to Ruffian Railcar's effect, I can't attack this turn, so lucky you. Turn end." Anna stated, as Yuya hopped back to his feet.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Yuya drew his card. "First, I'll switch my Hip Hippo to defense mode!" Yuya shifted his card.

Performapal Hip Hippo  
DEF: 800

"Quick-Play Spell Card, open!" one of Yuya's facedowns flipped up. "Draw Muscle, Activate!"

"Draw Muscle?..." Yuto wondered.

"With this card, I can target one monster on the field in Defense Mode, as long as it has less than 1000 Defense Points, and draw one card from my deck! And one of those monsters is my Performapal Hip Hippo!" Yuya drew a card. "Right! And now I summon Performapal Whip Viper in Attack Mode!" A snake with a bow tie and top hat found its way to the field.

Performapal Whip Viper  
ATK: 1700  
✩ x 4

"That's not as funny the second time." Anna stated.

"Don't worry, you'll be laughing soon enough! I activate Whip Viper's effect! My Whip Viper can switch the attack and defense points of a monster on the field! I choose your Ruffian Railcar!" Yuya explained, as he made Whip Viper use it's effect.

Ruffian Railcar  
ATK: 1000

"Alright! Now that crazy train's at a dead end!" Yuri cheered.

"Performapal Whip Viper, put that thing out of commission!" Yuya said, as his monster bit the train, dissipating it.

 **Anna LP: 4000** **3300**

"Now you've got no monsters on the field! Try and come back back from that, little lady! Turn end!" Yuya said. Anna growled at the Entertainment Duelist.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Anna drew her card, and smirked. "Because I control no monsters on the field, I special summon Rocket Arrow Express in Attack Mode!" And out of the ground, a silver jet carrying a blue-yellow rocket emerged from the ground.

Rocket Arrow Express  
ATK: 5000  
✩ x 10

"5000 Attack Points? How is that possible?" Yuzu asked, almost to the point of shouting.

"This is the power of Anna's deck." Fuya said, making the pinkette turn towards her head toward him. "The strategy is that, she gets as many powerful monsters as she needs to Xyz summon her Ace."

"Ace?" Yuzu wondered, turning back to the duel.

Anna got pulled a card from her hand. "Next up, I summon Night Express Knight, in Attack mode!" a portal opened up, and on a tiny trolley, a knight in full armor, holding a sword and shield, appeared.

Night Express Knight  
ATK: 3000 → 0  
✩ x 10

"A level 10 monster? But how?! You didn't tribute any monsters!" Yuya said, demanding an explanation for her summoning methods.

Anna huffed. "Night Express Knight can be summoned without tributes, but the only downside of this is, it's original attack becomes zero. Not that it matters, since I wasn't able to attack, seeing as how I special summoned Rocket Arrow Express this turn." the redhead explained.

Yugo cupped his his chin, saying, "That's weird. Why would she summon two powerful monsters if she knew she wasn't going to use them?"

 _"Two level 10 monsters... Wait, is she...!"_ Yuto thought to himself, but what happened next just seemed to confirm his thoughts.

"Feast your eyes, Yuya! Because now I overlay the Level 10 Night Express Knight with my Rocket Arrow Express!" Both monsters turned into orange speares, before ascending into the air.

"Here it comes." Fuya said.

A red spiral portal opened up under the field. "With these 2 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Both monsters sailed inside the portal.

"No way!" Yuzu breathed.

"Is this..." Yuya said, in disbelief.

"Xyz Summon!" A bright beam shot out of the portal. "From beyond the railway, arriving here and now, alongside the tremors of the earth, show yourself!, Superdreadnoght Rail Cannon Gustav Max!" Anna's ace monster, a train stacked with an armory and a chamber, came out of the portal, two overlay units circling it.

Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max  
ATK: 3000  
✪ x 10

"Is that... Anna's ace?" Yuzu asked.

"And since I can't attack, I'll use Gustav Max's effect to my advantage!" Gustav Max's chamber opened, revealing a HUGE gun. "By detaching one overlay unit, I can deal 2000 points of direct damage straight to you!" Anna explained.

"WHAT?!" Yuya cried, before Gustav Max's overlay unit was fired at Yuya, throwing him back from the impact of the blow.

 **Yuya LP: 3500 -** **1500**

"YUYA!" Yuzu screamed, showing concern about her friend.

"Finally, I'll set a card facedown. Turn End." Anna said. "Now, draw your last card, Yuya..." She mocked him, and te red-headed boy only got up.

 _"Damn! There not much I can do now..."_ Yuya looked at his cards. _"I could Pendulum Summon with Odd-Eyes and Timegazer Magician, but that'd be too risky."_ Yuya came to a realization. _"That's right! I still have a facedown! But... I can't use it now. That does it, I've just gotta put everything into this draw!"_

Yuya got up, and put is hand on his deck. "It's... my turn!" he clutched his card tightly. _"Please let it be the one I need."_ "DRAW!" Yuya drew his card, sparkles accompanying the trail the card traveled in. Yuya looked at his card, and smiled widely. "It's time to turn this duel around!" Yuya got two cards from his hand and held them in front of him. "With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!" Yuya put his cards in the Pendulum Zones, lighting up his Duel Disk with the work "PENDULUM" in rainbow letters. The two magicians ascended into the air, surrounded by pillars of light, the numbers "1" and "8" appearing under them.

"Alright! Now that chick's gonna learn the power of Pendulum Summoning!" Yugo cheered.

"Of course. After preparation by losing to Serena 10 times straight, you think he would lose again?" Yuri mused.

Anna, however, was taken aback by what was happening. "What's this?!"

"With this, I can Summon monsters with Levels 2 through 7 at the same time!" Yuya's pendant, which was in giant form, began to swing behind the magicians. "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the sky! Pendulum Summon! Come! My monsters!" A portal opened up, with 3 beams of light flying out.

"Performapal Sword Fish!" the monster was a fish shaped like a sword, with a pompadour and glasses. "Performapal Partnaga!" this monster was another snake, but shaped like a spring, wearing a top hat and a glove on its tail. "And finally, the dragon with wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" This dragon was a red dragon, with bright red scales, white attachments with gems in them (green and blue). The dragon let out a mighty roar, as Yuya showed his monsters.

Performapal Sword Fish  
DEF: 600  
✩ x 2

Performapal Partnaga  
DEF: 2100  
✩ x 5

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon  
ATK: 2500  
✩ x 7

"That's... what the... Hey! How did you do that? What, did you hack the system or something?" Anna asked, somewhat half-angry.

Yuya shook his finger, before saying, "Sorry, missy! But I'm afraid Pendulum summoning is perfectly legal where I come from!"

"Damn!" Anna cursed.

"This is bad, Anna's getting frustrated." Fuya remarked. "And when this happens, she gets even more reckless..." Fuya was shaking now.

"I activate Performapal Partnaga's effect! For each "Performapal" monster I control, I can add 300 Attack points to a monster!" Yuya pointed to Odd-Eyes. "Since I have 4 "Performapals" on the field, Odd-Eyes gains 1200 Attack Points!

"What?! Anna was surprised at this.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon  
ATK: 2500 → 3700

"Odd-Eyes can beat Gustav Max now!" Yuzu realized, smiling.

 _"This kid truly is something else."_ Rio thought, smiling to herself.

"The fun has only just begun! Battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, with your dual-colored eyes of yours, lay waste to all you see!" Odd-Eyes gathered a large amount of energy in it's mouth. "Spiraling Strike... Burst!" Odd-Eyes fired its beam at Gustav Max, hitting it dead-on. The force was enough to knock Anna back.

 **Anna LP: 3300 -** **2600**

"Because of Partnaga's effect, Level 5 and under monsters can't attack, so Turn End." Yuya said, waiting for Anna to get up.

Yugo began to count on his fingers and realized, "Hey wait, shouldn't Odd-Eyes' effect have activated? Gustav Max was a level 10 monster, so it should have doubled the damage!"

"Xyz monsters don't have Levels, idiot." Yuto sneered. "Xyz monsters have ranks, so even though Yuya attacked, he would never have activated Odd-Eyes' effect.

Yugo looked back at the duel, saying, "Well, hopefully she doesn't have any more of those things..."

Anna got up, and she slowly started to laugh. "You shouldn't have done that..." She glared at Yuya. "...Now you're gonna pay the price! It's my turn! DRAW!" Anna drew her card, and laughed even more. "This is the end!"

"This isn't good." Rio said, making Yuzu turn toward her. "Anna's trying to play... _that_ card..." Fuya turned toward the Barian as well. "What card?"

"I summon Shreddder in Attack Mode!" the monster that was played looked akin to a humanoid garbage disposal.

Shreddder  
ATK: 1600  
✩ x 4

"I activate Shreddder's effect! By sending a Machine-type monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy one of your monsters!" she pointed to Odd-Eyes. "Since the monster I discarded was a Level 10, say goodbye to your Ace!" Odd-Eyes dissipated into energy.

"Pendulum monsters aren't destroyed, they go to the Extra Deck instead!" Yuya said, putting his ace monster in his extra deck.

Anna chuckled. "That doesn't matter. Spell Card, Special Schedule, activate!" A portal to the graveyard opened up. "I can Special Summon 1 Machine-Type monster in my graveyard, as long it has 3000 or more Attack Points, and summon it in Defense Mode!" There was instantly rumbling coming from below. "Special Summon! Night Express Knight!" the monster came back through the portal.

Night Express Knight  
DEF: 3000  
✩ x 10

"That's the same monster as before!" Yuto said, taken aback by the reappearance of the monster.

"Facedown Spell Card! Southern Stars, Activate!" Anna's facedown flipped up. "With this, I can change the level of 1 card to 10! I choose Shreddder!" Anna said, with Shreddder glowing.

Shreddder  
✩ x 10

"Two level 10's?" Yuzu breathed.

"Is she going for it again?" Yuto wondered.

"I overlay the Level 10 Shreddder and Night Express Night!" both monsters became orange spheres of energy, and leapt into the air. Fuya looked up, noticing storm clouds above him. "What the..."

A galaxy portal opened up underneath the two duelists. "With these 2 monsters, I build the Overlay Network! XYZ SUMMON!" a huge beam shot out from the portal. "Show yourself, Number 81!" the Number '81' formed and flashed the color red, as a tornado formed above the two duelists. The bottom of the tornado started to open, showing 4 trains, two of them having guns, on a railroad track, and revealing the main centerpiece: a tank with silver armor, it's Number being located on the left, while having orange energy pulse straight to its center cannon. "Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Superior Dora!"

Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Superior Dora  
ATK: 3200  
✪ x 10

"Numbers..!" Yuto breathed.

"When did Anna get THAT card?!

In a unspecified area, Astral was watching on, with a sly smile.

* * *

 **"Fufufu..."** Astral mused. **"I knew I made the right call, releasing parts of the Numbers..."**

* * *

The Number '81' appeared on Anna's forearm, as she gained a wide grin on her face. "Battle! Number 81, attack Performapal Whip Viper!" Number 81 started to charge its gun, and pointed it straight at Whip Viper.

"Trap Card, Last Minute Cancel, activate!" Yuya's facedown flipped up. "When a monster i control is targeted for an attack, I switch all monsters in Attack Position to Defense Position!"

Performapal Whip Viper  
DEF: 900

Number 81 fired its cannon, destroying Whip Viper. "And when a "Performapal" Monster I control is destroyed in battle, I send it back to my hand!" Yuya said.

"Ho hum. What a useless move. I'll just blow you away with my monster next turn! Turn End!" Anna sneered.

"Anna..." Fuya said, obiously worried.

"Man, how's Yuya gonna get rid of that thing?" Yugo wondered.

"He can't. That's the problem." Yuto said, getting his brothers' attention. "Numbers cards are a special type of Xyz monster. They can't be destroyed in battle... Except by other Numbers." Yuri, Yugo, and Yuya all reacted to this.

"Damn! And he doesn't have a monster on the field or in his deck that can stop that... thing!" Yuri griped.

"However, they still take damage from battle, though." Yuto finished.

"It's my turn!" as Yuya went to draw his card, his hand was visbily shaking. _"Do it! Take a step forward!"_ "DRAW!" his card had a golden trail behind it. He looked at it, smiled, before getting and saying, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Sorry to keep you waiting, but it's time for the main event! First off, Dark Hole, Activate!" a black hole formed underneath the duelists, and started to suck their monsters in. "With this, I can destroy all monsters on the field!" All the monsters were sucked in, destroying them all.

"That is suicide! Does he know what he's doing?" Rio said, aloud.

"Of course he does!" Yuzu retorted. "He always does."

"Next, since I already have my Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician in my Pendulum Zones, I can once again Pendulum Summon!" Yuya explained, both his monsters taking a bow.

"Wait, since Odd-Eyes is in the Extra Deck, he can just attack directly and end this!" Yugo said, smiling.

"Look at the numbers, genius." Yuri told him. "Odd-Eyes has 2500 Attack Points, Anna has 2600 Life Points. Even if Odd-Eyes attacks, she'll be left with 100 Life Points."

"Oh..." Yugo said, disappointed.

The pendulum began to swing again. "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the sky! Pendulum Summon! Show yourselves! My monsters!" Above Yuya, a portal opened up, and a two beams of light shot out of it.

"Performapal Whip Viper!" the purple snake returned to the field. "And... please welcome back to the stage, the main star of the show, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya's Ace monster formed onto the field once again.

Performapal Whip Viper  
ATK: 1700  
✩ x 4

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon  
ATK: 2500  
✩ x 7

"Impossible!" Anna said, surprised.

"It's show time! Battle! First off, Whip Viper attacks directly!" Yuya said, as the snake leapt towards Anna, biting her on the shoulder, making her wince in pain.

 **Anna LP: 2600 -** **900**

"And now, the main star of today's show, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Attacks Directly!" Odd-Eyes charged energy in its mouth. "Go! With those dual-colored eyes of yours, lay waste to all you see! Spiraling Strike... BURST!" Odd-Eyes fired its beam at Anna.

"YAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Anna screamed, as she was knocked back from the force of Odd-Eyes' attack. She landed hard on the ground, defeated.

 **Yuya LP: 1500 - WIN**

 **Anna LP: 0**

Yuya's picture appeared with the word 'WIN' underneath it. The Solid AR Vision dissipated, Anna struggling to get up. "How..." the girl stood up. "How was someone like you able to beat me?!" Anna picked up her cannon again.

Yuya and his brothers stood on their guard. Yuzu ran over, stood in front of the brothers with her hands outstreched. "Just stop! You already got a duel out of them, so just leave them alone!"

Anna's glare intensified. "I don't care if you like him or not, Hiragi! That Tsukune bastard needs to die for abandoning me!" That's when Yuya, his brothers, and Yuzu all came to a realization.

"Um.. My name is Yuya Sakaki." Yuya said, sheepishly. That when Anna blushed in embarrassment, Yuto facepalmed, and Yuzu just shook her head. Fuya took Anna's hand.

"It's not him, Anna." the blue-haired boy said, in a warm tone. Anna looked at Fuya for a bit, and turned back to the brothers, saying, "I'm very sorry!" while bowing in embarrassment. She handed Yuya her 2 Bronze Astral Medals. "Please accept these as a token of my apology!" the brothers looked at each other, before Yuya took the medals saying, "Good luck in the tournament."

Anna grabbed Yuzu's arm, saying, "We've wasted enough time here! Let's go!" Yuzu turned around to look at Yuya. "See you later!" With that, they all flew off (Anna, Fuya, Yuzu rode on Anna's cannon, Rio flew using her Barian powers).

Yuya looked at his two new medals and said, "The first of many..."

* * *

Astral was watching through his screen, looking pleased with what he saw. **"Astral Dueling Conference Observation #1: No card is invincible. If you play your cards right, you can turn any duel around.**


	3. Another Sawatari?

**Sorry if this took so long, I just had this idea and didn't know how to get it out.**

* * *

 **Astral Dueling Conference -**

 **My Doppelganger?! The Power of the Yosenju**

* * *

We find the LDS Fusion Duelist, Masumi Kotsu, dueling with a tournament participant near the river.

 **Masumi LP: 4000**

 **VS**

 **Opponent LP: 100**

 **Masumi's field: Gem-Knight Master Diamond, no facedowns**

 **Opponent's field: Empty**

Gem-Knight Master Diamond  
ATK: 3400 (due to effect)  
Level: 9

"Gem-Knight Master Diamond! Direct attack!" Masumi cried, and the armored knight rushed toward his opponent, raising his sword, and in an instant, brought it down. The opponent was brought to his knees with the force of the blow.

 **Masumi LP: 4000 - WIN**

 **Opponent LP: 0**

Masumi walked over, towering over her downed opponent. The dark-skinned girl only said, "Medals. Now." Her opponent, clearly in fear, ran away, dropping his medals on the ground as he ran. Masumi picked them up, and said to herself, "Alright. Now that's 10 medals."

Hokuto and Yaiba walked over, with Hokuto saying, "Awesome!" they pulled up their progress on their D-Pads. "With that it makes 35 Bronze Medals between the four of us!" Masumi stated. "The only one who hasn't gotten any extra medals yet are..." the three duelists cringed as they all turned to the blonde boy, who was sulking, and having a proverbial cloud over his head. They all glared at him while saying his name: "Sawatari..."

"It's not fair..." the blonde boy said, before Sawatari looked up, with comical tears in his eyes. "There's not a single person in this entire city that wants to duel me!" He cried some more, before pounding his fists on the ground.

"Yep. Classic Sawatari." Hokuto groaned.

Masumi walked up to the blonde and started shaking him. She then yelled at him, saying, "Shut the hell up! You can't get a duel because you're not serious about dueling anyone!"

"She's right, you know." Yaiba added. "Between the four of us, you're not exactly the most approachable. Between the whole rich boy "I'm better and your... dancing, you just don't fit in with us."

"All in all, that makes you the weak link of our little group!" Hokuto finished, which made the blonde shoot a manacing glare at him. In an instant, the LDS student sprang up, grabbing the Xyz user's collar.

"You take that back! You'll regret saying that!" Sawatari had visible tic marks on his face at this point. "I AM as just as good a duelist as the 3 of you!" he pointed at the three of them as he was saying this. "I'll show you, you'll see! I'll find a really strong opponent, and I'll show all of you why I am NOT to be trifled with!" Sawatari started running off from his teammates, looking for someone to duel, when he bumped into someone, knocking him down.

"Sawatari!" Masumi cried, prompting the three students to run over to Sawatari. "You okay, man?" Yaiba asked.

The blonde boy cluched his face, saying, "I'm fine..." Before getting up on his own.

"Here, we've got you." Hokuto said, which confused Sawatari. The LDS student slowly opened his eyes, and saw...

...an apparent clone of himself. The boy had his facial features, a similar haircut, but the only real difference was that he wore a blue Heartland Academy uniform, signalling that he was a third-year there. Sawatari looked at his teammates helping the boy up, before Yaiba said, "Wait.. Who're you?" This was when the Fusion and Xyz users realized that Sawatari was still on the ground. It was at this point, Sawatari got up on his own, muttering, "Oh, no, DON'T help me, that'd be too much to ask!"

As soon as he got up, the blonde boy pointed at his apparent doppelganger, saying, well, more like ordering, "All right, I want some answers, right here, right now! Tell me why you look like me, are you part of the resistance, and do you still hold a grudge against Academia?!" Sawatari's teammates could only sweatdrop at the comments he was making.

"What... what the HELL are you talking about?!" the boy shouted back. "I don't know who you are, but if anything, I think YOU look like ME!"

Sawatari gasped. "You idiot! Do you know you're talking to?! I'm the son of the soon-to-be Mayor of Miami City, Shingo Sawatari!" the Pendulum user stated, pointing at himself as he finished his sentence.

"And?" the kid said, raising an eyebrow. Sawatari's jaw dropped, and grabbed the boy's collar. "It means you should respect me, you little punk!" The boy swiped his hand away from his collar saying, "Don't touch me, I am the former President of the Heartland student council!" Sawartari simply said, "And?" While raising an eyebrow.

The boy pouted, while saying, "It means you should respect me! Damn..." the boy cursed. "Maybe once I win the Dueling Conference, I'll get some respect..." the blonde grinned, saying "Now I see. Alright, If you're a part of the Astral Dueling Conference," Sawatari brought out all of his medals. "I'll be your opponent."

His 'clone' smiled, and brought out 5 all of his medals. "The name's Mamoru Jinguji, and I accept your challenge!"

Sawatari put his Duel Disk on his wrist, putting Duel Mode on standby, and placed his cards in the deck slot, shuffling it. He revealed his card tray, signifying he was ready.

"Duel Disk, set!" Mamoru put his duel disk on his wrist. "Duel Gazer, set!" Mamoru's D-Gazer flipped onto his left eye.

"DUEL!"

 **Sawatari LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Jinguji LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

Sawatari turned to his comrades. _"This is my perfect chance to show them what I'm made of!"_ Sawatari looked at his hand. "I summon Yosenju Kamaitachi in Attack Mode!"

The blond put his monster on the disk, revealing a scythe-wielding silver-haired humanoid weasel monster in purple robes.

Yosenju Kamaitachi  
ATK: 1600  
Level: 4

"Oh, so he's back to using these cards, huh?" Yaiba mused.

"I don't know why he insists on using weak cards like those." Hokuto sneered.

"His switching of decks can only mean that he's just insecure of his cards and his dueling skills." Masumi snarked.

Sawatari heard all these remarks, however, and fired back with, "OH, SCREW YOU!" the blonde then groaned, looking at his hand again. "I'll place 2 cards facedown." Sawatari's facedowns appeared. "Turn End! At this time, Yosenju Kamaitachi's effect activates!" his monster then dissipated. "Since I Normal Summoned this monster this turn, it goes back to my hand!"

"See, what'd I tell you? Why would he summon a monster on the first turn only to have it leave the field as soon as his turn is over?" Masumi said, while laughing at her comrade.

"Your deck isn't that good either, you know!" Sawatari shouted, angering the dark-skinned girl.

Jinguji, however just grinned. "You are gonna WISH you had that monster on your field! It's my turn! Draw!" Jinguji drew his card. "First off, I summon Tamaguchi, the Explary Priestess!"

Out of the card, a girl wearing a pink kimono with a bright red hakama appeared. and then, her hakama disappeared, only going up to her thighs.

"Whoa..." Sawatari breathed, blushing a bit.

Tamaguchi, the Exemplary Priestess  
ATK: 1000 → 0  
Level: 6

"A level 6 monster?! Sawatari, Stay-" Masumi began, but then saw he had a perverted look on his face, and she could only facepalm. "Of course..."

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Mirror Stage of Disapline, from my hand!" Tamaguchi's hakama returned to its original length.

Tamaguchi  
ATK: 0 → 1000

The LDS student then snapped out of his perverse state to say, "What the hell?! I was really enjoying the view!" he then wiped away his slight nosebleed.

"Let me explain this to you. one of Tamaguchi's effects was to Normal Summon it without a tribute, but it was at the cost of its Attack Points. But with my Mirror Stage, it regains its original Attack Points." Jinguji explained, with a smug look on his face. "Now, I could simply attack you directly, but I'll use an effect of another monster of mine! I Special Summon Sakaki the Honor Student Priest!" the monster then appeared, a blonde boy wearing a white robe, blue hakama, and holding a staff.

Sakaki the Honor Student Priest  
ATK: 1600  
Level: 6

"Sakaki..." the LDS students breathed.

"...'Honor Student'?" Sawatari finished.

"So, how do you feel? This is the power of my Priest deck!" Jinguji told him. Sawatari would only look at his monsters and get down on the ground and start laughing. "HEY! STOP LAUGHING!" the former student council president yelled.

Sawatari got up, saying, "Sorry, but the Sakaki I know isn't exactly a student worthy of the title of 'Honor Student'."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

The four brothers were in a flower shop, when all of a sudden...

"ACHOO!" the brothers turned in the direction of the sneeze, seeing it came from the 'youngest', Yuya.

"Hey, you all right, Yuya?" Yuto asked.

"I'm fine, really." Yuya replied, rubbing his nose. "Somebody must have mentioned me, I bet.

* * *

 **Back at the duel...**

You better get ready, because I overlay the Level 6 Tamaguchi, the Exemplary Priestess and Sakaki the Honor Student Priest!" Jinguji declared, both his monsters turning into yellow spheres, and spiraling into the air. A red spiral portal opened up, with both monsters going inside. "With these 2 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A bright light burst from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Protector of the rules, descend! Norito, the Disciplinary Chief Priest!" as he said this, his monster appeared from the portal. It was a pale, pink haired man wearing a black priest's uniform, while holding a pure black fan, and wearing a gate of sorts on his back, with 2 yellow overlay units circling it.

Norito the Disciplinary Chief Priest  
ATK: 2700  
Rank: 6  
ORU: 2

"Whoa..." Hokuto breathed. "With a card like that, Sawatari's definitely lost this duel."

"Yeah. And with no monsters on his field, he's wide open for an attack!" Yaiba added.

"Battle! Go, Norito! Attack that clone!" Norito charged toward Sawatari, knocking the blonde back.

 **Sawatari LP: 4000** **→ 1300  
Hand: 3**

"Finally I place 2 cards facedown, and with that, Turn end!" Jinguji stated, happy at what he caused.

"As expected, the two cards he set on the field didn't do any good, and to top it all off, he's almost at 0 Life Points." Masumi remarked, shaking her head.

Sawatari got up, trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head. _"Okay, how many Life points do I have left?"_ the LDS student looked at his Duel Disk. _"1300? Not that bad... okay... if this next draw doesn't win this, I'm out of the tournament..."_ Sawatari put his hand on his deck. "It's my turn!" Sawatari gripped his card, before declaring, "Draw!" he looked at his hand, smirking. "I have to admit, your Xyz summoning is really something fierce!"

"Of course!" Jinguji sneered.

"But... how does it compare to Pendulum Summoning?" Sawatari asked, smirking. Jinguji raised an eyebrow and asked, "Pendulum Summoning?"

Sawatari grinned widely, saying, "Showtime." before he took two cards from his hand, and held them in front of him. "With the Scale 3 Yosenju Shinchu L and the Scale 5 Yosenju Shinchu R, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!" Sawartari placed the cards on his duel disk, lighting it up with the words, "PENDULUM" in rainbow letters. The monsters, one being a gate with a sorrowful blue mask, the other being a gate with a red demonic face on it, rose up in columns of light, with the numbers '3' and '5' appearing under them.

Hokuto widened his eyes before coming to a realization. "Idiot... now he can only summon level 4 monsters only!"

"I told you, didn't I? He's just an incompetent duelist who doesn't know how to use his deck!" Masumi snarked, again.

"Don't underestimate the power of the Yosenju! I activate the Pendulum effect of Yosenju Shinchu R! You see, when there's another Yosenju monster in my Pendulum Zone, I can turn its Pendulum Scale up to 11!" Sawatari explained, the pendulum scale changing as he talked.

"What is this?" Jinguji asked.

"You'll find out soon! But first, Spell Card, Overlay Break, activate!" Sawatari's facedown flipped up. "When I found out that the tournament was going to be held in Heartland, a predominately Xyz-based city, I picked up a few new cards. But it's what this card does that's important! You see, I can take your Xyz monster's overlay units, and send them directly to the graveyard!"

"WHAT?!" Jinguji shouted, but then smirked. "Wait... I activate Norito's effect! By detaching one Overlay unit, once per turn, I can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card!" the monster absorbed an Overlay Unit, and destroyed Sawatari's facedown.

"Good move, but now my second facedown activates!" Sawatari's second facedown flipped up. "Continuous Spell, Fire Formation - Tenki, activate!" the card glowed. "With this, I can add 1 Beast-Warrior card from my deck to my hand! And all Beast-Warrior monsters I control can gain 100 Attack Points!"

A card jutted out from his deck. "Now, the Stage has been set! With the already set Yosenju Shinchu L & R in my Pendulum Zones, I can summon monsters between Levels 4 through 10 at the same time!" A portal opened up. "Pendulum Summon! Show yourself! My monsters!" Three green beams of light came from the portal.

"Yosenju Kamaitatchi!" the monster from before showed up again. "Yosenju Kamanitatchi!" another monster appeared, looking like the one before it, except wearing a blue rose, red sash, and black hakama. Sawatari put his hand to his chest as he summoned the next monster.

"Oh wind-clad chief of phantoms! With your raging cloak, gouge those lands!" the monster took the form of a tiger, except with markings and a flame green pattern. "Come forth, Mayosenju Daibakaze!" Sawatari's ace monster took to the field.

Yosenju Kamaitachi  
ATK: 1600 → 1700  
Level 4

Yosenju Kamanitachi  
ATK: 1800 → 1900  
Level 4

Mayosenju Daibakaze  
ATK: 3000  
Level 10

"He summoned 3 monsters in one turn! And what's worse, he even has a Level 10 monster on the field!" Jinguji breathed.

"Kamanitachi's effect activates!" Kamanitachi rushed over to the opponent's field. "Although the damage is halved, he can attack you directly!" Kamanitachi appeared in front of Jinugji, slashing him.

 **Jinguji LP: 4000** **→ 3050  
Hand: 2**

"Battle! Daibakaze, attack Norito!" Sawatari declared, and his monster charged towards Norito, and headbutted the Xyz monster, destroying it.

 **Jinguji LP: 3050** **→ 2650  
Hand: 2**

"Now, Kamanitachi, Attack my doppelganger directly!" Sawatari ordered, and the weasel-like monster unsheathed his sword

"Trap Card, Open! Xyz Reborn, activate!" Jinguji's facedown flipped up.

"What?" Sawatari exclaimed, shocked.

"This lets me target 1 Xyz monster in my graveyard, and Special Summon it! I choose Norito, the Disciplinary Chief Priest!" Jinguji declared, and his ace monster returned to the field.

Norito the Disciplinary Chief Priest  
ATK: 2700  
Rank: 6

"Furthermore, I can attach this trap card to it as an overlay unit!" Norito lifted his headpiece, revealing a yellow overlay unit.

Norito, the Disciplinary Chief Priest  
ORU: 1

"Damn!" Sawatari cursed. "Kamanitachi, Stop the attack!" his monster went rigid again.

"Turn End." With that, Daibakaze disappeared.

"It's my turn! DRAW!" Jinguji drew his card. "Spell Card, Overlay Regen, activate!" Jinguji's second facedown flipped up. "This card gives my Norito another overlay unit!

Norito, the Disciplinary Chief Priest  
ORU: 2

 _"What is he planning?"_ the blonde thought. _"Why did he go to all that trouble just to get his monster back?"_

Jinguji took a card from his hand. "Spell Card, Rank Up Magic - Argent Force, Activate!With this card, I can summon 1 'CXyz' monster from my extra deck that is 1 Rank higher than Norito!" the red spiral portal opened once more, Norito sinking inside. "With this, I rebuild the Overlay Network!" a light shone from the portal. "CHAOS XYZ CHANGE!" A robotic priest appeared, wearing all white robes, and holding two long, rope-type objects, with 3 overlay units circling it.

CXyz Saimon the Disciplinary High Priest  
ATK: 3000  
Rank: 7  
ORU: 3

"Aw man! I don't have Daibakaze on my field anymore, and that thing has 3000 Attack on it!" Sawatari griped.

"Battle! Saimon, attack Yosenju Kamaitachi!" Saimon rushed towards Kamaitachi with blinding speed.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!" Sawatari screamed, as he was knocked on the ground.

 **Sawatari LP: 1300** **→ 200  
Hand: 1**

"Turn end. Now play your next card, so I can end you, faker!" Jinguji sneered.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Sawatari looked at his card. "I set 1 card facedown! Turn End!"

"Sawatari, you idiot! You could have Tribute Summoned Mayosenju Daibakaze and destroyed that Xyz monster!" Hokuto scolded.

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises." Sawatari replied, with charisma oozing from his voice, and striking a pose. His comrades, however, just cringed.

"It's my turn!" Jinguji declared, as he drew a card. "I activate Saimon's effect! Since I used Norito for the Chaos Xyz Change, I can send 1 monster on the field to your hand!"

Sawatari chuckled. "You really think that, don't you?"

"What?"

"Trap Card, Open! Yosenjus' Secret Move, activate!" Sawatari's facedown flipped up. "When a Spell, Trap or Monster effect is activated when I control a 'Yosenju' card, I can negate the effect!"

"The hell?!" Saimon went rigid again.

"Furthermore, when all my monsters are 'Yosenju', I can destroy the card! So say goodbye to your Chaos Xyz!" The monster disappeared, making Jinguji grit his teeth. "Damn you! Turn End!"

"It's my turn! Draw!" Sawatari drew his card. _"No need for this."_ "I tribute my Yosenju Kamaitachi and Yosenju Kamantachi!" the two monsters dissipated. "Tribute summon! Mayosenju Daibakaze!" Sawatari's Ace monster showed itself once again.

Mayosenju Daibakaze  
ATK: 3000  
Level: 10

"I see." Masumi mused. "He actually wanted to get a clear opening on his opponent before getting his ace back. There's more to him than meets the eye, it seems."

"Battle! Daibakaze, Attack Jinguji directly!" the green-blazoned monster rushed toward Jinguji at a breakneck pace, fear being put in his doppelganger's eyes. "EAAAAAAAAAGGGH!" the boy shouted as he was knocked back by the force of the attack. The teen landed on the ground with a THUD.

 **Sawatari LP: 200 - WIN**

 **Jinguji LP: 0**

Sawatari's face appeared, with the word 'WIN' appearing under it, as the Solid AR vanished, with Sawatari outstreching his hand toward the boy. "Need a hand?" the blonde asked. He found his hand was swatted away.

"You don't care... it's not like I'm gonna get any respect after this, anyways." Jinguji muttered to himself.

"You're wrong, Mamoru." the LDS student said, making the former student representative look up at him. "You can't make people give you respect just by demanding it. Respect isn't in the cards you play or the position you are. Respect must be earned." he closed his eyes, reminiscing to his first duel with Yuya. "I learned that a long time ago from a friend. And in that duel, you definetly had me on the ropes!"

The teen's eyes widened as he shook the hand of the LDS student. "Thank you! Shingo, was it? I'm going to perfect my dueling skills every day until they're just as good as, or better, than yours! Then we'll see who's the better duelist!" at that point, Jinguji let go of his hand, but Sawatari felt something in his hand. He opened it, and saw 5 Bronze Astral Medals.

"That's what we bet on, right? 5 Bronze Medals. You better get not lose, okay?" the teen his 'doppelganger' and he nodded in response. Jinguji ran off, waving good-bye, while Sawatari waved back. The blonde then turned to his teammates, who walked up to him. "So, how was that?"

"Serviceable," Hokuto began.

"Boring," Yaiba continued.

"Decent," Masumi finished.

After hearing these criticisms, Sawatari's jaw dropped. "B-B-But didn't you see me pull out of that pinch? That's what won me the duel! So, at LEAST consider yourselves my equals now!"

The 3 students then chuckled. "Oh, sure, we'd accept you as in our league..." Hokuto said, getting Sawatari's hopes up. "In about 5 millennia." Sawatari's world then cracked, and walked with his head down, once again, muttering, "Xyz Scum... Fusion Scum... Synchro Scum..."


	4. Training Kotori

**Hey guys, I'm back! I'm still using a beta reader for this story, so that I can improve my duel writing skills. With that being said, enjoy the show!**

* * *

 **Kotori LP: 1000**

 **Kaito LP: 3200**

Kaito's field: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, no facedowns

Kotori's field: Hecatrice, Honest, 1 facedown

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon  
ATK: 3000  
LEVEL: 8

Hecatrice  
ATK: 1500  
LEVEL: 4

Honest  
DEF: 1900  
LEVEL: 4

On the inside of a forest, Kaito and Kotori were dueling, well, more like instructing a lesson, while Yuma and Shark just watched by the side.

This all came about because of a favor that Kaito agreed to a few days back...

* * *

*Flashback*

"Hey, Kaito!" the blonde turned, seeing the greenette running towards him, waving. She stopped to catch her breath before saying, "Hey, are you entering the Dueling tournament that's coming up?"

The former Numbers Hunter nodded in response. "I've entered Haruto as well. I figured, now that he's cured, I should probably give him the freedom he deserves."

"Oh, that's great!" the greenette said, smiling.

"Why do you ask?" the blonde asked, statling the girl.

"Well, that's the thing... See, I kind of entered myself as well, and I bought myself a deck to duel with, but I don't now what half of them really do!"

"Let me see them." The girl got out her deck, allowing Kaito to see the cards. "Okay, this may be a deck I can work with."

Kotori raised an eyebrow, confused. "Work with?"

"That's what you wanted me to do, right? Train you to use these cards?" Kaito said, turning to look at the greenette.

"Well..." She began.

"Or, you can just watch as you get left behind in the tournament, which is it?" Kaito asked, giving Kotori an ultimatum of sorts. After a few moments of silence, she nodded in approval. "Excellent. We begin the day the tournament begins. Bring your deck... and a competent strategy."

The 14-year old was left standing there, trying to process what she just heard.

*End Flashback*

* * *

"I overlay the Level 4 Hecatrice and Honest!" Kotori declared, before both monsters turned fully yellow, spiraling into the air.

Underneath the 2 duelists, a red spiral portal opened up. "With these 2 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" a light shot out of the portal. "Xyz Summon! Please show yourself, Fairy Cheer Girl!"

...a buzzer went off, with the greenette's D-Pad reading "ERROR". "Huh? What did I do wrong?!" the girl said, panicking.

The Solid AR Vision faded, as well as Kaito's D-Gazer, as his Photon Change switched off. As his coat turned from white to black, he slowly walked up to Kotori. "What happened?"

"I did everything right! I got the monsters on the field, made sure that they were the same levels, and I put it in my deck!"

"The deck?"

"Yes!" Kotori exclaimed.

Kaito pinched the bridge of his nose, before saying, "Yuma, explain to Kotori how you Xyz summon again."

Yuma took out a book, some glasses, and licked his fingers before finally saying:

 _"During their Main Phase 1 or 2, if the game state is open: The turn player can declare the action, choosing an Xyz Monster in their Extra Deck that they intend to Xyz Summon. They stack the required Xyz Materials on top of each other in a single Monster Zone, as listed on the Xyz Monster itself (which normally list at least 2 monsters with Levels that match the Xyz Monster's Rank). After that, they take the chosen Xyz Monster from the Extra Deck and place it on top of the stacked Xyz Materials in face-up Attack or Defense Position."_

Yuma put the book away, before a Rice ball was thrown to him by the former Numbers Hunter. "Good boy." Kaito turned back to Kotori, who was looking down, in sorrow. "Sorry, Kaito..." The blonde raised his hand slowly... and placed it on Kotori's head, surprising the girl. She looked at Kaito, who had a gentle look in his eyes.

"It's okay. Nobody starts out as a pro at first." he then turned to Yuma and Shark, and remarked, "Isn't that right, Yuma?"

"Screw you! I actually knew what Xyz summoning was from its introduction!" the duelist snapped, making everyone laugh. As the laughter died down, however, Kaito said this: "However, in order to get you to ascend to a higher level, you have to face people that are higher on the totem pole than you." he motioned for Shark and Yuma to come over.

"These will be your opponents." Kaito told the girl, shocking the 3 of them.

"What?!" Yuma cried.

"Kaito, hold on!" Shark exclaimed, walking up to the former Numbers Hunter, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think that this is the appropriate way to-"

"This is the first step to take if she wants to get stronger." Kaito replied, cutting him off. "Besides, this is what she wanted, and that's what she's going to get."

"Kaito, she's barely ever dueled! What if we-" Yuma began, then the cry of "YUMA!" cut him off, and all the boys turned towards the greenette.

"For years, I've done nothing but watch you... And I've been nothing but a burden... That's why I need to do this! So please, Yuma! Shark!" Kotori readied her D-Pad once again. "I request that you duel with me!" she put her D-Gazer over her eye.

Yuma smirked, before saying, "Alright, Kotori! If that's the case, then we're gonna bring it to you!" Yuma threw his D-Pad in the air. "Let's do this! Duel Disk, set!" His duel disk slicked on his wrist, the card zones folding out. "D-Gazer, set!" His D-Gazer flipped onto his face.

Meanwhile, Shark's D-Pad black-and-yellow formed from energy, and his left eye turned red.

 **"SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED."** the AR system said, the area around them warping into the Augmented Reality. **"ESTABLISHING LINK BETWEEN A AND B."**

"DUEL!"

 **Yuma & Shark LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5 (each)**

 **Kotori LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"This duel will be contested under Handicap rules!" Kaito declared. "Which means, until every player has taken their turn, nobody draws a card, and no monsters on the field can attack! Furthermore, if the one member of the team of Yuma and Shark loses all their Life Points, both members will lose!" the blond finished, before pointing at Kotori. "Since you're my student, you can have the first move! Show them what you've learned under my tutelege." the blond smirked.

The greenette nodded, and looked at her hand. "I summon The Agent of Creation - Venus in Attack Mode!" she laid the card down, and then a winged angel, with 3 orbs surrounding her, appeared on the field.

The Agent of Creation - Venus  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 3

"I activate Venus' effect! By paying 500 Life Points, I can special summon 1 'Mystical Shine Ball' from my hand or deck!" Kotori got the card, and the clear ball appeared.

Mystical Shine Ball  
ATK: 500  
LEVEL: 2

 **Kotori LP: 4000 - 3500**

"What can be done once can be done once again! I ativate Venus' effect! By paying another 500 Life Points, I can special summon another Mystical Shine Ball!" a card jutted out from Kotori's deck, and another clear ball showed itself.

Mystical Shine Ball  
ATK: 500  
LEVEL: 2

 **Kotori LP 3500 - 3000**

"She just cost herself 1000 Life Points!" Yuma exclaimed.

"What's even worse, she has two Level 2 on the field!" Shark replied, making Yuma react.

" _Now, let's see if you've picked anything up, Kotori."_ Kaito thought, smirking to himself.

"And now, I overlay the 2 Level 2 Mystical Shine Balls!" Both of the orbs turned from translucent to opaque yellow, and spiraled into the air. A red spiral portal opened up, and both monsters went inside. "With these 2 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A beam of white light shot from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Show yourself, Daigusto Phoenix!" The green-and-orange scaled dragon showed itself on the field, with 2 green overlay units cicling it.

Daigusto Phoenix  
ATK: 1500  
RANK: 2  
OVU: 2

"Turn End!" Kotori declared.

Yuma just looked on in amazement. "Wow!" the black-and-red haired teen exclaimed. "I'm impressed! You actually managed to Xyz summon on your first turn! And correctly this time!"

Kaito smiled to himself. _"Looks like someone's getting the hang of things."_

"It's my turn!" Yuma declared. "I summon Goblindbergh in Attack Mode!" A goblin appeared in a plane, wearing a pilot suit.

Goblindbergh  
ATK: 1400  
LEVEL: 4

"And because I Summoned it this turn, I can Special Summon one card that has the level of 4!" Yuma explained, before Goblindbergh dropped a crate on the field. "Gogogo Golem, Special Summon!" the golem showed itself on the field.

Gogogo Golem  
DEF: 1500  
LEVEL: 4

Goblindbergh  
DEF: 0

 _"Two level 4 monsters?!"_ Kaito mentally exclaimed, in realization.

"I'm gonna bring it to you, Kotori! I overlay the Level 4 Goblindbergh and Gogogo Golem!" the two monsters turned fully orange, before spiraling into the air. A galaxy portal opened up, and both monsters went inside. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Yuma shot his hand into the air. "Xyz Summon!" A bright light shone from the portal. "Bring it to 'em, Number 55!" The Number '55' flashed in pink, before a monster climbed out of the portal, looking like Gogogo Golem, only with more attachments on its back, and looking more like a fortress, with orange two overlay units circling it. "Gogogo Goliath!"

Number 55: Gogogo Goliath  
ATK: 2400  
RANK: 4  
OVU: 2

"A Numbers Monster?!" Kotori exclaimed.

"Yuma, when did you get that card from?" Shark asked.

"I don't really know, really..." the teen replied, scratching the back of his head. "All I know is, the card just showed up in my extra deck one day, as I was searing through it!"

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Astral was watching Yuma's duel on a screen, smiling to himself. _**"Consider this to be my second gift to you, Yuma."**_

 **Back at the duel...**

* * *

"That thing is enormous..." Kotori stated, looking at the Numbers monster.

"With this, I end my turn!" Yuma declared. "Shark, do it!"

"Right! It's my turn! First off, I'll summon Big Jaws in Attack Mode!" A torrent of water flowed, and a shark with large, protruding teeth and a sharp fin appeared.

Big Jaws  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 3

"And because a Fish-Type monster was summoned on my field this turn, Shark Stickers, Special Summon!" A another fish, this one with suction cups on its head, appeared next to Big Jaws.

Shark Stickers  
DEF: 1000  
LEVEL: 3

"I overlay the Level 4 Big Jaws and Shark Stickers!" Both monsters turned fully blue, before spiraling into the air. A red sprial portal opened up, with both monsters going inside. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" A purple spear came out from the ground. "Xyz Summon! Show yourself, Black Ray Lancer!" The winged stingray monster showed itself, brandishing its spear.

Black Ray Lancer  
ATK: 2100  
RANK: 3  
OVU: 2

"I set one card facedown." Shark's facedown appeared. "Turn End." Kotori stared at the two Xyz monsters, breathless. "Amazing... they each managed to Xyz monsters! Not only that, they're all stronger than my Daigusto..." she looked at her free hand, noticing it shaking slightly. "I feel strange..." Kotori noticed that her whole body was trembling, not with fear, but with happiness. "I see... so this is what it's like!" she let out a chuckle. "The real duel begins begins now!" The greenette put her hand on her deck, before declaring, "It's my turn! DRAW!" she drew her card. "Field Spell, Sanctuary in the Sky, activate!"

The area morphed from a forest, to an angelic building which had floated into the sky, and the 3 duelists found themselves sending on the clouds.

"Next, I'll Summon The Agent of Mystery - Earth in Attack Mode!" A grey-skinned woman wearing elegant cloth, green-blue wings, and holding a clear orb appeared.

The Agent of Mystery - Earth  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 2

"Agent of Mystery's effect activates! Because Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can add one Master Hyperion from my deck, straight to my hand!" a card jutted out from the greenette's deck. "And by banishing one 'The Agent' monster from my field," Kotori began, with 'Earth' dissipating. "I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" A blaze of fire took place, before a giant monster, wearing ancient robes, and rings around the center of its chest.

Master Hyperion  
ATK: 2700  
LEVEL: 8

"A level 8 monster?!" Shark exclaimed.

"What?! When... Where did she get that card from?!" Kaito said, shocked.

"Battle! Master Hyperion, attack Black Ray Lancer!" The giant monster rushed towards the Xyz monster, destroying it.

 **Yuma & Shark LP: 4000 - 3400**

"Daigusto, attack Shark Directly!" Kotori declared, and the dragon ran up to Shark, kicking him.

 **Yuma & Shark LP: 3400 - 1900**

"And now, Venus, continue the trifecta and attack Shark directly!" The three orbs lit up on Venus, and they all shocked Shark. "WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the Barian screamed.

 **Yuma & Shark LP: 1900 - 300**

"SHARK!" Yuma cried, running over to his friend. "Hey, Shark, are you okay? Answer me!" Yuma gently shook Shark, who opened his eyes, before saying, "I'm not dead, you know." Yuma smiled, and then the Barian slowly got up.

"Turn End! Now, let's see if you can make a comeback!" Kotori stated, slighty mocking her opponents.

"Heh." Yuma chuckled. "Don't worry, because we haven't lost just yet! It's my turn! Draw!" Yuma looked at his card. "Yes! I tribute Gogogo Goliath!" The giant, fortress-like monster disappeared.

"What?!" Shark exclaimed.

"Yuma got rid of that powerful monster... but why?" Kaito wondered.

"Gogogo Golem - Golden Form, Special Summon!" Yuma declared, and his monster formed, looking almost like Gogogo Golem, except leaner, with golden armor, and a red centerpiece at the heart of its chest.

Gogogo Golem - Golden Form  
ATK: ?  
LEVEL: 4

"It has no Attack Points..." Kotori breathed.

"Because I tributed a 'Gogogo' monster, Golden Gogogo Golem's Attack Points become double that of the tributed monster!"

Gogogo Golem - Golden Form  
ATK: 4800

"4800 Attack Points?!" Kotori exclaimed.

"Golden Gogogo Golem! Attack Master Hyperion!" the golden monster rushed toward the giant, and punched him.

 **Kotori LP: 3000 - 900**

"Nice! Now our Life Points are almost the same!" Shark said. "Nice one, Yuma!"

The red-black haired boy gave a thumbs up, and replied, "Thanks, but I'm not done yet! I summon Gogogo Ghost in attack mode!" An monster appeared on the field, dressed in samurai garb, wielding a samurai sword, with blue flames of energy coming out.

Gogogo Ghost  
ATK: 1900  
LEVEL: 4

"I overlay the Level 4 Gogogo Golem - Golden Form and Gogogo Ghost!" the monsters turned fully purple (Ghost) and orange (Golden) before spiraling into the air. A galaxy portal opened up, with both monsters sailing inside. "With these 2 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Show yourself! Number 39! The King of Hope, Utopia!"

The Number '39' flashed in red, before Utopia's sealed form arose from a dark cloud. The gold and silver wings extended, and its body started to form, taking out its sword, before finally letting out a cry of "HOPE!"

Number 39: Utopia  
ATK: 2500  
RANK: 4

"Turn End!" Yuma declared. "Shark, take it away!"

"Right! It's my turn! Draw!" Shark drew his card. He pointed at the greenette. "Since you control more monsters than I do, I can summon Eagle Shark!" the purple fish, armed with razor-sharp fins, showed itself on the field.

Eagle Shark  
DEF: 1800  
LEVEL: 5

"Because I summoned Eagle Shark this turn, Panther Shark, Special Summon!" A yellow-purple monster decked with razor fins showed itself.

Panther Shark  
DEF: 2000  
LEVEL: 5

"I overlay the Level 5 Panther Shark and Eagle Shark!" both monsters turned fully blue before spiraling into the air. A red portal opened up, and both monsters went inside. "With these 2 monsters I build the Overlay Network!" A light shone through the portal. "Xyz Summon! Come, Shark Fortress!" A giant fish shaped like a submarine came out though the portal.

Shark Fortress  
ATK: 2400  
RANK: 5

"Spell Card, Open!" Shark's facedown flipped up. "Rank-Up-Magic Barian's Force, activate!" the card glowed crimson.

"Barian's Force?" Kotori breathed.

"By targeting one Xyz monster, I can increase its Rank by one!" Shark declared.

Shark Fortress  
RANK: 6

"And because I increased its Rank, I can rebuild the Overlay Network!" A galaxy portal opened up, Shark Fortress diving inside. "Chaos Xyz Change! Show yourself, Chaos Number 73! Pierce through the whirlpool of Chaos, and now, surface from the depths to this land!" The monster that appeared wore purple-white armor, with spiked shoulders and a helmet, all while wielding a staff. "Abyss Supra Splash!"

Number C73: Abyss Supra Splash  
ATK: 3000  
RANK: 6

"3000 Attack Points?" Kotori gasped.

 _"Well, this is unexpected."_ Kaito thought, smirking.

"Battle! Abyss Supra Splash attacks Daigusto Phoenix!" The Chaos monster charged its energy at the monster, fired the energy directly at it, obliterating it.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Kotori screamed, as the force was just enough to knock her back a few feet.

 **Yuma & Shark LP: 300 - WIN**

 **Kotori LP: 0**

Yuma and Shark's faces appeared, each with the word "WIN" appearing underneath as the Solid AR Vision vanished. The two teens walked up to the greenette, who said, "I lost..." she then felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked and saw that it was Kaito, giving her a warm smile. "It's okay... Losing is all part of the process."

"Yeah, you may lose a lot now, but soon, you'll be winning left and right!" Yuma said, making her smile.

Shark smirked, before saying, "Yeah, how many times do you think that Yuma had to lose to everyone before finally winning for once?"

"Shut up! You don't know a thing!" Yuma said, his cheeks puffing out, while everyone just laughed and laughed. As soon as the laughter died down, however, Kaito stood up, saying, "Alright. I think the practice games are over." He walked forward, looking back at his teammates. "Let's win some medals."


	5. Different Duelists

Shun walked around the streets of Heartland, admiring the the duelists entered in the tournament, many of them with smiles on their faces.

"As it should be..." Shun remarked, reflecting back on the harsh battles with Academia in the Xyz dimension, and how nearly everyone he cared about were turned into cards or captured. The male opened his eyes, seeing the duels once again.

Shun then felt large arm wrap around his body, and turned around to see Gauche, who was smiling. "What's wrong, Shun?" the fiery-haired man asked, "Shouldn't you be dueling?"

Shun put of a nervous smile. "Sorry, Gauche." the larger man let go, allowing Shun to view the duelists again.

"Amazing, isn't it?" a voice said. Both Shun and Gauche turned to the source of the voice, seeing that it was Droite. She looked at the duelists, and clowly curled her lips into a smile.

"Seeing people enjoying dueling, without any strife, no threat to the world, and just showing off their skills, is just... peaceful." the purple-haired woman remarked, cupping her cheek with her hand.

"Oh yeah! Also, there's bound there's bound to be some strong duelist here!" flames started to wrap around Gauche. "I can feel myself getting fired up!"

"Gauche, don't too excited, okay?" Droite requested, making the muscular man whimper a simple "Okay..."

Their exchange made Shun chuckle a bit. He looked on at the duelists, but then, he remebered back to earlier...

* * *

*Flashback*

After the opening ceremony, the many teams split together in pairs of 4, and while Shun, Droite, and Gauche were all together, they looked to see Reiji walking away from them.

 _"Hey, Reiji!"_ Shun called out, walking up to the gray-haired teen, who turned to see him, and his teammates.

 _"Hey, look. They said that we're supposed to be in a team! So come on!"_ Gauche told Reiji, who still had their back turned to them.

 _"I have my own plans for this tournament, and they don't involve being on teams."_ Reiji told them, which angered Gauche, which caused Droite to hold him back. Reiji looked back at Shun, who only stared at Reiji. After a while, Reiji closed his eyes, saying, _"I see. So that's the path you want to walk down..."_ the teen walked off, with those words staying with him.

*End Flashback*

* * *

"What's wrong, Shun?" a voice asked him. He snapped out of his daydream to see the two adults looking at him.

"Sorry," Shun replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I was just caught up in-" the man couldn't finish his sentence, seeing as how he sunndenly felt two arms wrap around his neck. Seeing as how he was jumped, he couldn't get a good look until he slightly saw curly red hair.

"Mieru?!" Shun exclaimed, before the girl jumped off of him. "What are you doing-" Shun looked behind her, seeing no one. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Mieru looked to the side, saying, "Well..."

*Flashback*

 _"Well, we're off!"_ Sora told Haruto and Reira, completly ignoring Mieru.

*End Flashback*

"And that's what happened." Mieru told the group.

"I see." Shun got out one medal. "If you want to prove your worth without them, then duel with me."

Mieru saw this, taking out 4 of her medals. "Okay then! If it's a duel you want, Mieru predicts that Mieru will win!" she then winked at Shun.

Both duelists put their duel disks in 'Standby Mode', unsheathing the blade within their duel disks.

"DUEL!"

 **Shun LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **VS.**

 **Mieru LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"Mieru will go first!" the young girl declared, looking at her hand. "Mieru sets one monster facedown!" her facedown appeared, in the monster zone. "Turn end."

"Only one monster?" Droite said.

"This girl... what is she planning?" Gauche wondered.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Shun drew his card. "I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius!" the mechanical bird rose from a dark portal.

Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius  
ATK: 1300  
LEVEL: 4

"And because I summoned this monster this turn, I can summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my hand! I choose Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius!" the second mechanical bird showed itself of the field.

Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius  
ATK: 1300  
LEVEL: 4

"Battle! Vanishing Lanius, attack Mieru's facedown monster!" the bird rushed toward the facedown card, and as the card flipped up. The monster was a slender young woman dressed in elegant clothing, and long, flowing blue hair.

Prediction Princess Arrowsylph  
DEF: 1400  
LEVEL: 4

What?" Shun realized, and his monster immediately got shocked.

 **Shun LP: 4000 - 3900**  
 **Hand: 3**

"She made me walk right into that... Clever." Shun remarked.

"Arrowsylph's effect activates!" A card jutted out from her deck. "When this card is flipped face-up, Mieru can add 1 Ritual Spell Card from Mieru's hand or deck."

"Ritual?" Gauche said, surprised.

"Turn end." Shun said, begrudingly.

"It's Mieru's turn! Draw!" Mieru drew her card. "Mieru tributes Prediction Princess Arrowsylph, so that Mieru can tribute set a monster!" The elegangly-dressed woman disappeared, and a facedown card took her place. "Turn end!"

 _"Okay... she set a monster last turn, trying to bait me into attacking, so this turn..."_ Shun thought to himself, putting his hand on his deck. "Draw!" he drew his card. "I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius!" A third mechanical bird appeared on the field.

Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius  
ATK: 1300  
LEVEL: 4

"He has 3 Level 4 monsters..." Droite mused.

"Looks like we're gonna see Shun's ace in action." Gauche said, slightly excited.

"I set 1 card facedown." His facedown appeared. "Turn end." Shun said.

Mieru was shocked at this, but then smirked. "Mieru's surprised that Shun didn't attack Mieru's monster! It's Mieru's turn! Draw!" Mieru drew her card. "Mieru flips up Prediction Princess Crystaldine!" the card flipped up, revealing a purple skinned woman staring into a crystal ball, wearing a blue-and-purple dress.

Prediction Princess Crystaldine  
ATK: 1400  
LEVEL: 5

"Crystaldine's effect activates! When this card is flipped up, Mieru can add 1 Ritual Monster from Mieru's Deck to Mieru's hand!" a card jutted out from her deck.

"As I thought, she does use rituals." Gauche said.

"And now, I activate the Ritual Spell, Prediction Ritual! the field below them suddenly became a ritual ground with a coffin in the center of it. "At this time, I tribute Prediction Princess Crystaldine to Prediction Ritual!" the monster dissapated, and around the two duelists, 5 candles lit up.

"Furthermore, I tribute my Prediction Princesses Astromorrigan and Coinorma!" the monsters were sent to the graveyard, and then 4 more flames lit up. "Priestess of ancient times who foresees everything! With the ancient description, now, be revived!" The coffin, now ajar, had a bright light shining from it. "Ritual Summon! Level 9! Holy Prediction Princess Tarotrei!" The monster came out of the coffin, wielding six arms (four of them mechanical), and wore a purple dress with an "Infinity" pattern on the dress' bottom half.

Prediction Princess Tarotrei  
ATK: 2600  
LEVEL: 9

"Battle! Tarotrei, attack Vanishing Lanius!" Mieru said.

"This is bad! If that attack hits, then...!" Gauche said.

"Trap Card, open! Raidraptor - Return, activate!" Shun said, his facedown flipping up. "When a Raidraptor monster of mine is destroyed, instead of sending it to the graveyard, I send it back to my hand!" The monster dissolved, and Shun felt every bit of it.

 **Shun LP: 3900 - 2600**  
 **Hand: 2**

"Not bad." Mieru complimented. "Turn End!

Shun closed his eyes. "Now the pieces are set.." He opened his eyes, declaring, "It's my turn! DRAW!" He drew his card, kicking up winds. "I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius from my hand!" his monster returned to the field.

Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius  
ATK: 1300  
LEVEL: 4

"Here it comes..." Droite said.

"My 3 Level 4 Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius, Overlay!" The 3 monsters spiraled into the air, turning fully purple as they did. A red spiral portal opened up, and all 3 monsters went inside. "With these 3 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A blue light shone from the portal. "Obscured falcon! Raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion!" The monster brandished its wings, blue flames escaping its barrels. "Xyz Summon!" The monster extended its talons. "Rise up, Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon!"

Raidraptor - Rise Falcon  
ATK: 100  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 3

"There it is!" Gauche cheered.

"Rise Falcon..." Droite said, staring intensely at the monster.

"Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic - Skip Force, Activate!" Shun declared, pulling the card from his hand. "When I activate this card, I can Special Summon an Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck!" Rise Falcon suddenly caught fire. "Prideful falcon. Spread your wings, dyed in the blood of heroes, and charge through the path of revolution!" Rise Falcon's eyes began to glow, and its form evolved. "Rank-Up Xyz Change! Rise up, Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon!" from the flames, the falcon spread its wings, brushing the fire away.

Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon  
ATK: 2000  
RANK: 6  
ORU: 4

"He Ranked-Up Rise Falcon?!" Gauche exclaimed.

"Revolution Falcon's effect activates! Because I used a Raidraptor Xyz Monster to Xyz Summon this monster, I can target one monster my opponent controls, and destroy it!" Tarotrei's psychical form started to waver.

"What?!" Mieru exclaimed.

"And when I use this effect, the controller of that monster receives damage equal to half of that monster's ATK!" Shun exclaimed, before Tarotrei dissapated.

 **Mieru LP: 2700**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Spell Card, Raptor's Ultimate Mace, activate! With this monster, I can boost the ATK of one Raidraptor monster by 1000! And I choose my Revolution Falcon!" Shun explained, as the monster flew into the air.

Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon  
ATK: 3000

"3000 Attack Points..." Mieru said, but then quickly realized what it meant. "Oh no!"

"Revolution Falcon! Attack Mieru directly! Revolution... Air Raid!" Shun declared, as his monster released the bombs onto his opponent.

 **Shun LP: 2600 - WIN**

 **Mieru LP: 2700 - 0**

Shun walked up to Mieru, who picked herself up. She handed him the the Medals, while smiling. She walked off, the 3 adults staring at the medals. Shun closed his eyes again, thinking, _"That's right. Duels are meant to bring smiles."_

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"All right! I'm so psyched up for this tournament!" Tetsuo yelled, which slightly irritated his teammates.

"Hey, Tetsuo, can you at least tone it down a bit-ura?" Tokunosuke griped.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you don't have to yell so loud, meow!" Cathy said.

"In summary, you're acting just like another Yuma!" Takashi told the stocky boy.

Tetsuo looked at all of his teammates, and said, "You're all just jealous cause I've prepared for this tournament longer than you guys have in a year! You'll see! I'll find a challenge! And a tough one, too!" he ran off, in no particular direction, and bumped into something, falling on his rear end.

"Are you okay, boy?" a flat, almost monotonous, voice said. Tetsuo looked up, and saw a 17-year old teenager, wearing white pants, dark shirt, a long red scarf, and a pair of glasses. Also, for whatever reason, he wasn't wearing socks.

"I asked you a question, boy." The man said again. "Are you okay?"

Tetsuo's teammates rushed over, and the boy said, "I'm fine."

Takashi looked over at the teen, realizing who he was. "OH MY GOSH! You're Reiji Akaba, President of the Leo Corporation!"

His friends looked the blue-haired boy, while saying, "Leo Corporation?" Takashi looked at them, saying, "They developed the Solid Vision System for Miami City, and they just recently developed a Solid AR System specifically for this tournament! They're also the biggest manufacturers of everything related to dueling!"

Reiji started to walk away, when he heard a heavy voice say, "Duel me!" The gray-haired teen turned around. "I've been itching for a good fight ever since I first entered this tournament!" Tetsuo took out all 5 of his medals. "And I have a feeling you're the challenge I've been looking for! Now, duel me!"

Reiji mulled it over for a few seconds, before saying, "Okay, I'll take you on." He put his duel disk on his left arm, and his disk tray formed.

"Let's go!" Tetsuo threw his D-Pad and D-Gazer into the air, and his D-Pad clicked onto his wrist. "Duel Disk, set!" his D-Gazer flipped onto his face. "D-Gazer, set!"

 **"SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED."** the AR system said, as the system warped into the Augmented Reality.

"DUEL!"

 **Reiji LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **V.S.**

 **Tetsuo LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"I'll take the first move." Reiji said. "Continous Spell, Dark Contract With the Hellgate, activate! With this, I can add 1 D/D Monster from my deck to my hand. I choose D/D Cerberus!" A card jutted out from Reiji's deck, which he added to his hand. "And during each of my Standby Phases, I will take 1000 points of damage."

"1000 Damage-ura?" Tokunosuke said.

"Continuous Spell Card, Dark Contract With the Swamp King, activate! This card allows me to Fusion Summon 1 Monster from my Extra Deck, fusing 2 Monsters from my Deck or my hand!" two cards in Reiji's hand glowed. "I fuse my D/D Cerberus and D/D Lilith!" The two monsters took form, before both turned violet, spiraling together. ""Hellhound that bares its fangs, vamp of the dark night! In whirlpool of light from the realm of the dead, become one, and give birth to a new king! Fusion Summon!" The monster that came from the portal had dark armor, weilding a red sword and shield. "Be born! D/D/D Flame King Genghis!"

D/D/D Flame King Genghis  
ATK: 2000  
LEVEL: 6

"He actually pulled off a Fusion Summon on his first turn!" Cathy said, amazed.

"Whoa, he really is amazing!" Takashi said, not believing what he saw.

"And due to my 2 "Dark Contracts", I will take 2000 points of damage on my next Standby Phase. I set two cards face-down." his two facedowns appeared. "Turn End."

 _"So, he's going to half his life points the next turn?"_ Tetsuo thought, before smirking. _"That only makes my job easier!"_ he put his hand on his deck. "It's my turn! Draw!" Tetsuo drew his card. "I summon Tin Goldfish!" A red goldfish made of metal appeared.

Tin Goldfish  
DEF: 2000  
LEVEL: 4

"Tin Goldfish's effect activates! When this card is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 Monster from my hand! Tin Goldfish, Special Summon!" a copy of the previous monster appeared.

Tin Goldfish  
DEF: 2000  
LEVEL: 4

"Spell Card, Double Summon, activate! This card allows me to Normal Summon once more this turn! And I'll summon Aye-Iron!" Tetsuo exclaimed, whole a metal kangaroo with cymbals appeared.

Aye-Iron  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

"Three Level 4 Monsters-ura!" Tokunosuke cheered.

"Level 4 Two Tin Goldfish and Aye-Iron, Overlay!" All three monsters turned blue and orange, respectively, and spiraled into the air. A red spiral opened up, all the monsters going inside. "With these 3 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Show yourself, Tin Archduke!" the monster jumped down from the air, dressed in old-timey clothing, and brandishing his sword, two overlay units circling it.

Tin Archduke  
ATK: 2200  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 3

"It's here, it's here!" Takashi cheered, jumping up and down.

"It's Tetsuo's ace-ura!" Tokunosuke cheered.

"Tin Archduke's effect activates! By detaching one overlay unit, I can switch the position of one monster on the field! I choose Flame King Genghis!" Tetsuo declared.

"Trap Card, Open! Solemn Strike, activate! If a monster effect was activated, I can negate the activation, then destroy that monster!" Reiji said, Tetsuo's monster disappearing.

"What?!" Tetsuo said.

"And because I activated this Trap Card, I take 1500 points of damage." Reiji finished.

 **Reiji LP: 2500**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Tch." Tetsuo said. "I'll finish you on my my next turn! Turn End!"

"There is no next turn." Reiji said. "It's my turn! Draw!"

"OH NO! Because of your "Dark Contract" cards, your Life Points go down to 500!" Tetsuo exclaimed.

"In summary, he'll be on his last legs after this!" Takashi exclaimed.

"And then Tetsuo will win the duel!" Cathy added.

Reiji, all the while smiled darkly while adjusting his glasses. Then, in the blink of an eye, all of his "Dark Contract" cards had been destroyed.

"What?!" Tetsuo exclaimed.

"The cards were destroyed-ura?!" Tokunosuke added.

"Trap card, Lease Laundering, activate!" Reiji's facedown flipped up. "Because I activated this card, I can draw cards equal to the number of "Dark Contracts" I destroyed. I controlled and destroyed 2 "Dark Contracts, therefore I draw 2 cards!" Reiji drew his cards. "Also, for each card I draw, I gain 1000 Life Points."

"What-ura?!" Tokunosuke exclaimed.

 **Reiji LP: 4500**  
 **Hand: 4**

"I summon D/D Night Howl!" Reiji said, and a mouth with flame eyes appeared, growling at Tetsuo.

D/D Night Howl  
ATK: 300  
LEVEL: 3

"Night Howl's effect activates! When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can Summon a Fiend-Type monster from my graveyard, but it's ATK and DEF becomes Zero. Be revived! Level 4 Tuner Monster, D/D Lilith!" the monster was a snake-like creature composed entirely of petals.

D/D Lilith  
DEF: 2100 - 0  
LEVEL: 4

"Tuner Monster?" Cathy said.

"To summarize, that means..." Takashi realized.

"I tune my Level 3 D/D Night Howl into my Level 4 D/D Lilith!" Lilith jumped into the air, turning into 4 stars, which turned into 4 green rings. They all cirled around Night Howl, as if to 'scan' the monster. "Howls that tear through the night. With the swiftness of a gale, give birth to a new king! Synchro Summon!" The monster that appeared had blue armor, green cape, and sword. "Be born! Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander!"

D/D/D Gust King Alexander  
ATK: 2500  
LEVEL: 7

"A Synchro Monster?!" Tetsuo exclaimed.

"D/D/D Flame King Genghis' effect activates! Because I Special Summoned a "D/D/D" Monster, I can target one D/D Monster in my graveyard, and Special Summon that target! Revive, D/D Lilith!" the petal-snake creature reappeared from a dark portal.

D/D Lilith  
DEF: 2100  
LEVEL: 4

"That monster again?" Tetsuo said.

"Gust King Alexander's effect activates! Because I Special Summoned a "D/D" Monster this turn, I can Special Summon one "D/D" from my graveyard! Revive, D/D Cerebus!" Reiji exclaimed, and a three-headed wolfman appeared.

D/D Cerebus  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"Two level 4 monsters?" Cathy realized.

"This is bad-ura!" Tokunosuke realized.

"Level 4 D/D Cerebus and D/D Lilith, Overlay!" Reiji exclaimed, and both monsters turned fully purple before spiraling into the air. A red spiral portal opened up above the two duelists, and both monsters went inside. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A bright light shone from the portal. "In order to subjugate all that resides in this dimension, descend onto the peak of the world!"

"In summary, is this..." Takashi said.

"Xyz Summon!" The monster wore purple armor, with silver shoulder spikes and brandished his sword, two purple overlay units circling it. "D/D/D Wave King Caesar!"

D/D/D Wave King Caesar  
ATK: 2400  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 2

"Amazing... he actually managed to use Xyz, Fusions, and Synchros!" Cathy said, amazed.

"In summary, Tetsuo never had a chance!" Takashi said.

"Battle! D/D/D Wave King Caesar, direct attack!" The monster rushed towards Tetsuo, slashing him.

 **Tetsuo LP: 4000 - 1600**  
 **Hand: 2**

"Damn!" Tetsuo said.

"This is bad! He has no facedowns, and if this next attack hits-ura...!" Tokunosuke said.

"D/D/D Flame King Genghis, Direct Attack!" the armored monster rushed toward the large boy, raising its sword, which suddenly caught fire. "Fire Stroke!" the monster brought the sword down, slashing the teen, knocking him back and landing on the ground with a "THUD".

 **Reiji LP: 4500 - WIN**

 **Tetsuo LP: 1100 - 0**

Reiji walked over to the large teen, and took all 5 of his Bronze Medals. "When you lose all 5 of your Medals, you are eliminated from the tournament." the gray-haired teen remarked. Slowly, Tetsuo began to stir, and said, "I... lost..."

Reiji began to walk away, before stopping to look at the teens, who were helping up Tetsuo. He said: "Do you know why you lost?" he adjusted his glasses. "Because I was your opponent."


	6. Dueling Reira

When Serena found out that she wasn't on the same team as her sister, she was a bit upset, but at the same time, she was relieved that she wasn't on the same team as... Yuri. When she was paired with 3 other guys she didn't know, known as the Arclights, she didn't know what to think.

There was Thomas, the middle child. He was a bit of a wild child, and at most times, he was the irrational and hot-headed of the 3.

There was Christopher, the oldest and tallest of the trio, he had a stoic attitude, and long flowing hair down to his ankles.

And then there was Michael. The youngest, and he was quite possibly the most sensitive out of the bunch. He had pink hair, like her sister, and out of all 3 of them, he was the most compassionate.

She had familiarized herself with the 3 boys, but after a few hours, she began to get slightly impatient. She entered this tournament to duel after all. She looked at the eldest Arclight, who was reading a book, and walked up to him. "Chris." the indigo-haired girl said, making the older male look up at her. "What is it, Serena?"

The girl crossed her arms. "I don't exactly mean to impose here, but we've been sitting around here, doing nothing for the past hour!" she looked around, hearing the numerous sounds of duels going on.

"I mean, come on! Can't we at least walk around, at least a little? See if anyone will duel us?" Serena pleaded. "We can't just stay here like sitting ducks!" at this moment, Chris put down his book, and looked at the green-eyed girl, who was taken aback by his piercing blue eyes.

"Do not fret. We will duel, but only when the time is right." Chris simply told her, going back to his book. Serena's eyebrow twitched a bit, before saying, "Is that it?!" And then, heard laughing behind her, and turned toward the source of the laughter, seeing that it was Thomas who was laughing. "What's so funny?" they girl asked, getting irritated.

"Do you really think that we wanted you for this?" Thomas asked the girl, in a condescending tone. "I mean, seriously, why do you think you even got paired with us? Because they wouldn't pair you with your dear sister?" the scarred boy scoffed, before saying, "Please."

Serena felt herself getting increasingly angrier, and balled up her fist. Suddenly, she saw a clothed arm stretch put in front of her, blocking her path. "Thomas, stop!" Thomas scoffed, before walking away. Michael turned to Serena, saying, "Sorry, he's usually not like this. It must be the pressure of the tournament, is all." Michael gave her a closed-eyed smile.

"Well, isn't this something!" a voice said, before the Arclights (and Serena) turned to see three young boys, one boy wearing a hoodie to cover his face, and one licking a lollipop, and Serena recognized that face.

"Sora!" Serena exclaimed.

"You know him?" Michael asked the girl.

Serena nodded. "We were students at Academia, and were allies through the whole dimensional wars." she walked up to the boy, and knelt down. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we've been walking around, dueled a few people, gained some medals in the process." Sora said, with the 3 boys taking out their medals.

"Oh," Serena said, before noticing something. "Wait, aren't there supposed to be 4 of you?"

"Yeah, but she was kind of annoying, so we got rid of her. Besides, I work better in 3 man teams. Reminds me of one of those ninja animes." Sora said, putting his arms behind his head.

At this time, Chris closed his book, and walked up to the boys, saying, "I see. So you're here to duel us, take our medals, and advance further in the tournament. Am I correct?"

"Yes!" Sora replied, nodding.

Serena smiled and cried out, "YES!" She was about to put her duel disk on her arm, before an arm blocked her way. Thomas looked at the 3 boys, saying, "I'm your opponent."

"What the hell are you doing?" the indigo haired girl asked her teammate, clearly angry with him.

"You need to familiarize yourself with us." Chris said, walking up behind the former Academia student. "If you see the way that any of us duel, you can adapt to our style. Thomas is the best duelist out of all 3 of us."

Thomas chuckled, turning around to meet Serena. "In other words, sit back, relax, and witness the greatness that is my fan service!" Serena narrowed her eyes at the duelist, who took out his 3 Bronze Medals.

"All right. Reira, why don't you give it a go?" Sora said, gently nudging the timid boy, which surprised him. Reira gave his bear to Haruto, before putting his duel disk on his arm, unsheathing the lime-green blade.

"Let's do this." Thomas threw his Duel Disk up into the air, which dematerialized and rematerialized onto his wrist, which had a gauntlet on it. His purple D-Gazer tattoo formed, turning his eye blue.

 **"SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED."** the AR system said, warping into the Augmented Reality.

"DUEL!/Duel."

 **Thomas LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **V.S.**

 **Reira LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"I'll be taking the first move!" Thomas looked at his hand. "I summon Gimmick Puppet Egg Head!" Out of a portal, a orange egg-shaped creature appeared.

Gimmick Puppet Egg Head  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

"Egg Head's effect activates!" Egg Head jumped into the air. "Once per turn, by discarding one "Gimmick Puppet" monster, I can inflict 800 points of damage onto my opponent's life points!" Thomas discarded the card, and then Egg Head landed on Reira, detonating on impact.

 **Reira LP: 4000 - 3200**  
 **Hand: 5**

"He just inflicted 800 points of damage on the first turn?" Serena said, amazed.

"That's one of Thomas' strategies." Michael said, as Serena turned her head toward him. "Since you can't attack on the first turn, some of the Gimmick Puppets are designed to go for effect damage right away. This allows him to take control of the duel, instantly."

"I'll set one card facedown. Turn End." Thomas said, his facedown appearing.

"It's my turn. Draw." Reira drew his card. "Spell Card, Shutter Layer 1, activate. With this, I can copy one monster that you control, and Special Summon it as a Normal monster." A copy of Egg Head appeared on the field.

Sora licked his lollipop, thinking, _"Looks like this is Reira's strategy."_

"And now, I summon Film Magician." Reira said, with his monster appearing, dressed in magician garb, with a film reel around his neck.

Film Magician  
ATK: 0  
LEVEL: 1

"A monster with Zero ATK?" Thomas said, surprised. He then chuckled, saying, "What's wrong, kid? Don't have any strong monsters in that deck of yours?"

"I place one card facedown." Reira's facedown appeared. "Turn End."

"It's my turn now! Draw!" Thomas drew his card, and then grinned. "I activate Egg Head's second effect! Until the End Phase, the level of this card becomes 8!"

Gimmick Puppet Egg Head  
LEVEL: 8

"Next, I'll summon Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer!" the monster appeared, and looked like it was operating its own gears.

Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer  
ATK: 100  
LEVEL: 1

"Gear Changer's effect activates! By targeting one monster on my side of the field, Gear Changer becomes that level!" Thomas continued.

Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer  
LEVEL: 8

"Hey, is this another part of Thomas's strategy?" Serena asked Chris, who nodded.

"Indeed. All of his Xyz monsters are Rank 8, so to accommodate for that, he tries to get as many level 8 monsters on the field as possible." Chris explained.

"Level 8 Gimmick Puppet Egg Head and Gear Changer, Overlay!" The two monsters turned fully purple, and spiraled into the air. At that time, Shutter Layer 1's effect wore off.

A galaxy portal opened up, and both monsters went inside. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A bright light exploded from the portal. "Xyz Summon!" The Number "15" flashed in orange, and the monster rose from the portal, with the parts of the monster wrapped in a distinct pattern, and the monster pulsated, like a human heart. "Number 15! The envoy from Hell, puppet who pulls the strings of fate.." The monster's gears began to move, and the true form of the monster began to form, and the monster revealed its cold, dead eyes. "Gimmick Puppet... Giant Grinder!

Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder  
ATK: 1500  
RANK: 8  
ORU: 2

"Amazing... that's Thomas'... ace?" Serena said, amazed at the monster.

"Chilling, isn't it?" Michael remarked.

Reira, however, just stared at the monster. This action confused Thomas, who, after a while, said, "Hey kid, what's wrong? You scared?"

"Number 15... Once per turn, it can detach one Overlay Unit, and destroy one monster on the field." Reira muttered, memorizing Number 15's effect. "However, this monster is only majorly effective against Xyz monsters, since the only damage they can give out by effects are by targeting Xyz monsters." Sora grinned, and licked his lollipop in response to this.

Thomas on the other hand, chuckled and said, "Looks like you know your stuff, kid. However, it won't save you! Giant Grinder, attack Film Magician!" Giant Grinder got out its whip, and started to whip it toward the Magician. However, the Magician caught the large whip.

"What?!" Thomas exclaimed.

"What happened?" Haruto asked. Sora chucked, and turned toward the younger boy. "That's Film Magician's effect."

"It can't be destroyed by battle, and when a monster battles it, he gains ATK equal to the opponent's monster ATK." Reira continued.

Film Magician  
ATK: 1500

"But wait, Giant Grinder is a Numbers monster!" Serena exclaimed. "And that means it can't be destroyed in battle, except by another Numbers!"

"Correct. Normally when two monsters with the same ATK battle, the monsters both get destroyed. But because of Film Magician's effect, and Giant Grinder's Numbers effect..." Chris began.

"It's a stalemate..." Haruto finished.

"Tch." Thomas grunted. "You may be able to avoid destruction by battle, but not my effects! Giant Grinder's effect activates! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can destroy one monster on my opponent's field!" Giant Grinder's strings launched toward Film Magician, restricting him. His chest cavity opened up, pulling in Film Magician, destroying him.

"Turn End!" Thomas declared.

Reira drew his card, silently. "Spell Card, Shutter Layer 1, activate." A copy of Giant Grinder appeared on Reira's field. "Turn End."

Thomas chuckled. "That was impressive, child, but unfortunately, not impressive enough!" Thomas drew his card. "It's my turn! First off, I release Giant Grinder!" Giant Grinder disappeared, as did Reira's copy.

"Wait, why'd he do that?" Serena asked.

"Giant Grinder is weak if it's not facing an Xyz monster, but the only thing it's truly good for is getting rid of monsters on the field." Michael explained.

"Because I released an Xyz monster this turn, I can summon Gimmick Puppet Nightmare!" the monster that appeared were multiple mannequins stuck together.

Gimmick Puppet Nightmare  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 8

"I banish Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder from my Graveyard, so that I can summon Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll!" a doll sat up in a coffin, a bandage placed over its eye.

Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll  
ATK: 0  
LEVEL: 8

"Facedown Card, Spell Card, Junk Puppet, activate! When I activate this card, I can Special Summon 1 "Gimmick Puppet" monster in my graveyard! Revive, Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer!" the gear-operating monster appeared again.

Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer  
ATK: 100  
LEVEL: 1

"Gear Changer's effect activates! I target 1 monster, and this card becomes the level of that monster!" Thomas declared, the monster operating his gears.

Gimmick Puppet Gear Changer  
LEVEL: 8

"What a strategy!" Serena said, amazed.

"He's got 3 Level 8 Monsters!" Haruto exclaimed.

"Level 8 Gimmick Puppet Nightmare, Dreary Doll, Gear Changer, OVERLAY!" All 3 monster turned fully purple, and spiraled into the air. A galaxy portal opened up, with the 3 monsters going inside. "With these 3 monsters, I build the overlay network!" A light exploded from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Number 88!" The Number '88' flashed in blue, and out of the portal, a mechanical lion dressed in knights garb, brandishing its sword, two purple overlay units circling him. "Gimmick Puppet - Leo!"

Number 88: Gimmick Puppet - Leo  
ATK: 3200  
RANK: 8  
ORU: 3

"Battle! Gimmick Puppet - Leo, direct attack!" Leo rushed toward Reira.

"Trap Card, open. Instant Shutter, activate." Reira's facedown flipped up. "When I'm targeted for a direct attack, I can target the attacking monster, and Special Summon this card with the same Name, Attribute, ATK, DEF, Level, and Type as the attacking monster." A copy of Gimmick Puppet - Leo appeared on Reira's field.

"Damn. That won't do any good. I activate Leo's effect! By detaching 1 Overlay Unit, I can place one Destiny Counter on him!" Thomas declared, and the monster absorbed its overlay unit into the sword's gem.

Number 88: Gimmick Puppet - Leo  
ORU: 2  
Destiny Counter: 1

"Turn End!" Thomas declared.

"It's my turn. Draw." Reira drew his card. He then gave off a small smile. "Here it is."

Sora and Haruto noticed this, and Sora said, "Here it comes."

"Spell Card, **Director's Cut** , activate! By banishing one "Shutter Layer" Spell Card from my graveyard, I can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard on to your side of the field." Film Magician appeared, and on Thomas' field. "Revive, Film Magician!"

Film Magician  
ATK: 0  
LEVEL: 1

"What the hell?" Thomas exclaimed.

"He brought back his monster, and gave it to Thomas?" Chris remarked.

"I summon C/C Critical Eye!" Reira said, his monster appearing on the field.

C/C Critical Eye  
ATK: 1400  
LEVEL: 4

"Past Tuning, activate!" Reira pulled his card from his hand. "I can target one monster my opponent controls, make this card a copy of that monster!" the card morphed into a copy of Film Magician. "And the C/C Critical Eye I control is treated as a Tuner monster!"

"Tuner monster?..." Thomas said.

"Does that mean..." Serena began.

"I tune the Level 1 Film Magician with the Level 4 C/C Critical Eye!" C/C Critical Eye turned into 4 stars, which turned into green rings. Film Magician went through the rings, and turned into a single star. "Lethal Weapon of Darkness! I offer you the power residing in my eye! Synchro Summon!" The monster that appeared was a demonic blob **(A/N: Think about the symbiote from Spider-Man)** , morphing into the form of Yuya, Reiji, Yuto, and Sora, before taking it's true form: The monster took the form of a black-and-white Bazooka, which landed on Reira's shoulder. "The embodiment of darkness which repels all light! C/C/C Dark Shooter, The Embodiment of Tuned Attacks!

 **C/C/C Dark Shooter, The Embodiment of Tuned Attacks**  
 **ATK: 2500**  
 **LEVEL: 5**

Sora whistled. "That is some monster he has there." the blue-haired boy remarked.

"Dark Shooter's effect activates! When there's one or more DARK-attribute monsters on my opponent's field, I can switch its control to my field! I choose Number 88!" Reira declared, and the monster switched from Thomas' control to Reira's, destroying Reira's copy in the process. The boy felt a pulsating feeling going through him, and the number '88' appeared on his hand in blue.

"Dammit!" Thomas cursed.

"Spell Card, Shutter Layer 2, activate!" Reira said, his voice now darker because of the Number's influence.

 _"Another?!"_ Thomas and Serena thought at the same time.

"Battle! Gimmick Puppet - Leo, attack Film Magician!" Leo began to rush toward Film Magician, raising it's sword.

"I-I activate Film Magician's effect!" Thomas stammered. "When targeted for battle, it gains attack equal to the attacking monster!" however, Film Magician was destroyed anyway.

 **Thomas LP: 4000 - 800**  
 **Hand: 1**

"What?! Why didn't couldn't I use it's effects?!" Thomas seethed.

"Shutter Layer 2's effect prevents my opponent from using the effects of their card effects. Card effects include Spell, Traps, and Monsters." Reira explained, his eyes narrowing at the last word.

Thomas realized what this meant. "N-No!"

Chris widened his eyes. "I see! So throughout the entire duel, he must have known that Thomas would try and use his Gimmick Puppets to deal damage to him, and used his own cards to counteract that damage! Amazing... just what is this child capable of?..."

"C/C/C Dark Shooter, Direct Attack!" Reira charged the bazooka. "Eliminate the light that radiates from his heart! Dark... Cannon!" Reira's monster fired a shot at Thomas, which he felt all of. "YAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" the scarred teen yelled, as he landed on the ground.

 **Reira LP: 3200 - WIN**

 **Thomas LP: 0**

Reira's picture appeared, with the word 'WIN' on it, as the Solid AR Vision vanished. Reira walked up to Thomas, giving him his cards. In response, Thomas gave him his 3 medals.

"Nice one, Reira!" Haruto said, complimenting the boy.

Reira gave him a small smile. "Thank you." he replied, taking back his bear. The 3 boys then walked away, Reira giving all the medals to Sora.

Serena walked up to Thomas, saying, "So... do you usually lose, or is that another part of your strategy?" Thomas snapped her head toward her, while the indigo-haired girl had a sly smile on her face.

"SCREW YOU!" Thomas yelled, while she and Michael laughed, while Chris let out a small chuckle.

Meanwhile, up in a tree, a figure was watching Serena. He checked his D-Gazer for information on her, only to be angered. "Damn." the figure muttered. "She's not the original." He then noticed something. The person pulled up a picture that was on her file, seeing her sisters (w/ Shun & Shuzo) in a family photo. He noticed a certain pink-haired girl, and fixated his gaze on her. He curled his lips up into a smile. "Found you." the figure muttered, and his purple eyes shone with evil intentions as the teleported away.

* * *

 **Fan-Made Cards**

Director's Cut  
Normal Spell Card  
If you have 1 "Shutter Layer 1" or "Shutter Layer 2" in your graveyard, banish it, and Special Summon 1 Monster from either Graveyard on your Opponent's field.

C/C/C Dark Shooter, The Embodiment of Tuned Attacks  
DARK LEVEL: 5 Fiend/Synchro/Effect  
ATK: 2500/DEF: 600  
Can only be Synchro Summoned with "C/C Critical Eye". When this card is Special Summoned: You can take control of 1 DARK monster your opponent controls. If this card is destroyed, that monster returns to its original owner.


	7. Rei vs Yuzu

**Hey guys, it's me again, and I'm back with a new chapter. Sorry I couldn't upload this in the morning, as there was a thing with my Spanish exam- it's not important. What is important is that I'm letting Yuzu duel this chapter!**

 **Fan: Where's Yuya-**

 **He'll be back soon, don't worry.**

* * *

"Damn that Yuya!" Anna exclaimed, punching a wall. Anna was livid after losing to her duel to Yuya. "Where does that idiot get off humiliating me?! And those cards he used..."

*Flashback*

 _"With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!"_

Yuya put his cards in the Pendulum Zones, lighting up his Duel Disk with the work "PENDULUM" in rainbow letters.

" _With this, I can Summon monsters with Levels 2 through 7 at the same time! Pendulum Summon!_ "

*End Flashback*

"I mean, how the hell does anyone just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?! I mean, isn't that illegal?!" Anna continued. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, turned around to see Fuya. He had a calming look on his face, and a gentle smile.

"Anna, forget about that." the child actor told the girl. "We still have the rest of the day to collect more medals." He took her hand gently, making her blush slightly. Her face turned into a gentle one, before returning to its angry glare, slapping away his hand.

"How can I forget about being cheated out of a duel?!" Anna griped, getting in Fuya's face.

"Pendulum summoning isn't cheating, you just lost to someone who was better than you!" a voice cried out, and both turned to see that it was Yuzu who spoke up to them. Upon seeing Anna's intense glare, the pink-haired girl immediately felt herself shrink. With a fire in her eyes, the weapon-wielding girl got in Yuzu's face, saying, "You wanna try saying that to my face, you little-"

"That's enough!" Rio cried, causing everyone to turn toward her. She walked up to Anna saying, "Pendulum summoning may seem like cheating, but its nothing to get worked up about." she put her hand on Anna's shoulder. "So calm down. Don't go threatening others for your own losses."

"Tch." went Anna, swiping Rio's hand off of her shoulder. "Come on, Fuya." The yellow-eyed girl walked off, amazingly pissed off, dragging the blue haired boy along with her.

Rio sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She turned to Yuzu, who was still quite in shock from Anna's aggressiveness. "Don't worry," Rio told her, snapping Yuzu out of her trance-like state. "She just gets like this sometimes. Our anger mostly gets the better of us, when we're faced with things we don't understand." Rio put a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go and duel some people? Maybe that'll take your mind off of things, 'Kay?" Rio gave Yuzu a closed eye smile.

"Sure!" Yuzu nodded. She ran off, in search for a duel. After she ran off, Rio looked up at the light post near her.

" _What does he want...?_ "Rio asked herself, her smiling face turning to an annoyed glare.

* * *

Yuzu went to the town square, seeing multiple duels going on, but more importantly, she was looking for a duel herself.

" _Okay, the weakest and/or amateur duelist have probably been eliminated by now, and the mid-tier and high-level duelists are left. If I can duel someone I've already defeated, maybe that can get me off to a good-_ " Yuzu thought, before her thoughts were interrupted by a loud "OUT OF MY WAY!". The voice was young, and he was running at a VERY fast pace. The boy saw Yuzu, and tried to slow down, but had bumped into the pink-haired girl, making them both fall over.

"Ow..." Yuzu muttered, rubbing the back of her head. She opened her eyes, getting a good look at who bumped into her. The boy had bulbous orange hair, wore a bright red T-Shirt with the words, "Yokare x Omotte" on it, and he had sparkling purple eyes.

"I'm so very sorry!" the boy said, bowing down in apology. He then tilted his head up, getting a clear view up her skirt, causing her to blush. "OH MY GOD!" he shouted, covering his eyes. "I'm sorry, Please forgive me! Please forgive me! Please forgive me!" he pleaded, almost like a mantra.

Yuzu got up, dusting herself off. She looked at the boy, who was covering his eyes now. "Get up," the girl said, and the boy complied.

"S-Sorry. I tend to not look where I'm going." the boy told her, chuckling.

"Well, what were you doing running that fast in the first place?!" Yuzu asked the boy, a bit agitated.

"Well, it all started a few hours ago, when I was all ready to start dueling some strong guys, but what happened was, I took a quick nap, and when I woke up, all my medals were gone!" The boy explained, while being wildly dramatic. "From that moment, I swore to myself that I would not rest, sleep, or eat until I found those medals!"

Yuzu looked at him in disbelief, trying to process what the boy had just told her. "Well, see, I was just in this area looking for someone to duel-"

The boy took her hands, taking the pink-haired girl by surprise. "What coincidence! I was also looking for someone to duel! My name is Rei Shingetsu! So, for the best, I'd be honored to be your opponent!"

Yuzu sweatdropped, but then told him, "Fine, then. In that case, I'll give you everything I've got!" She put her duel disk on her wrist, reavealing the card tray.

"Let's go!" Rei shouted, throwing his duel disk into the air. "Duel Disk, set!" his gray D-Pad clicked onto his wrist. "D-Gazer, set!" his large, red D-Gazer came down on his face.

" **SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED.** " the Augmented Reality system said, as the system warped into the Solid Vision.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuzu LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **V.S.**

 **Shingetsu LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"I'll take the first move!" Rei looked at his cards. "I summon Satellarknight Sirius!"

Satellarknight Sirius  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

"Satellar?" Yuzu said, amazed and confused at the monster.

"The Satellarknights are named after the brightest stars in the skies! And you've heard of Astrology, haven't you? Because I can predict my victory approaching!" Rei declared.

"But it's only the first turn, though..." Yuzu sweatdropped.

"Turn end!" Rei said.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Yuzu drew her card. "I summon Aria the Melodious Diva!"

Aria the Melodious Diva  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

"And because I control a "Melodious" monster, I can Special Summon Sonata the Melodious Diva!" Yuzu declared, her monster appearing.

Sonata the Melodious Diva  
ATK: 1200  
LEVEL: 3

"Sonanta's effect activates! Because I Special Summoned her onto the field, all Fairy-Type monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF!" Yuzu declared.

Aria the Melodious Diva  
ATK: 2100/DEF: 1700

Sonata the Melodious Diva  
ATK: 1700/DEF: 1500

"Wow, amazing! I've heard about the power these monsters, but I've never actually witnessed their power firsthand!" Rei said, with stars in his eyes.

"Battle! Go, Aria, and attack Satellarknight Sirius!" Yuzu declared, as Aria breathed in. "Sharpness Voice!"

 **Shingetsu LP: 4000 - 3500**  
 **Hand: 4**

Rei grunted as his monster was destroyed. "Man..."

"Sonata, Direct attack!" Sonata sang, and Rei was pushed back by the intensity of the attack.

 **Shingetsu LP: 3500 - 1700**  
 **Hand: 4**

"I set two cards facedown." Her two facedowns appeared. "Turn end."

Rei chucked, thinking, _"This girl is stronger than I thought... I knew I made the right choice."_ He stood up, and smirked. _"In that case, I'll have to not hold back anymore..."_

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Anna was in the middle of a duel, with an opponent competing in the tournament while Rio and Fuya watched.

Anna's field: Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Superior Dora, Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max

Opponent's field: None

Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Superior Dora  
ATK: 3200  
RANK: 10  
OVU: 2

Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max  
ATK: 3000  
RANK: 10  
OVU: 0

"Gustav Max, direct attack! Gustav Hammer!" Anna declared, her monster pointing the barrel of its gun at her opponent, before it fired a cannonball, knocking back the opponent.

 **Anna LP: 400 - WIN**

 **Opponent LP: 0**

Anna's picture appeared with the word 'WIN' on it, as Solid AR vanished. Anna took off her D-Gazer, and took all of the medals that the person obtained. "Yes. That makes 15 Medals."

Fuya and Rio walked up to the bazooka girl, who held up a peace sign. "Awesome job, Anna!" Fuya congratulated.

"Thanks, Fuya!" Anna replied, giving the boy a hi-five. "Just 5 more medals, or one gold medal, and I'll be fully qualified to enter the finals!" the pink-orange haired girl had a wide smile on her face. "Oh, that reminds me! Hey, Yuzu, we should probably-" Anna stopped her sentence after she turned around and saw that Yuzu was not there.

"Where is she?" Anna asked, looking in all directions for the pink haired girl. "I could have sworn she was with us..."

"Don't you remember, Anna? You tried to threaten her, so I sent her away." Rio remarked.

Anna joke had a poker face on for about for 10 seconds, before going, "OOOOHHH... damn."

Rio sighed. "C'mon. Let's go look for her." They turned around, before seeing Mizael ride in on a dragon. The dragon was (mostly) small, but people evacuated the area anyway. The dragon tamer jumped off the dragon's head, landing on the floor.

"Mizael!" Anna and Fuya exclaimed, in unison.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the tournament?" Rio asked, before Mizael put a hand on her shoulder.

"Merag. Listen to me." Mizael told her. "Where. Is. Yuzu?" the barian asked, confusing all of them.

* * *

 **Back at the Duel...**

"My turn! Draw!" Rei drew his card. "I summon Satellarknight Altair!" a bright portal opened, and a blue, gold, and silver armored monster with wings, a sword, and a ring around its body appeared.

Satellarknight Altair  
ATK: 1700  
LEVEL: 4

"Whoa." was all Yuzu could mutter.

"Altair's effect activates! Because it was summoned this turn, I can special summon one "tellarknight" monster. However the only downside to this effect is that my monsters has to be in defense mode!" Rei declared, and he checked his hand. "I Special Summon Satellarknight Procyon!" A young boy with white-and-orange armor with a distinct helmet appeared out of a shining portal.

Satellarknight Procyon  
DEF: 1200  
LEVEL: 4

"And now, from my hand, I activate the Spell Card, The Warrior Returning Alive! This card allows me to add 1 Warrior-Type from my Graveyard to my hand!" Rei declared, a card coming out of his Graveyard Zone. "Now, I activate the Spell Card, Double Summon! This card allows me to Normal Summon one more monster this turn! Come Back, Satellarknight Sirius!"

Satellarknight Sirius  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

"Three level 4 monsters...!" Yuzu realized.

"Level 4 Satellarknight Altair, Procyon, and Sirius, Overlay!" the three monsters turned fully yellow before flying into the air. "With these three monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A red spiral portal opened up, and both monsters went inside. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Stellarknight Triverr!" A bright light shone from the sky, and a fully armored figure wielding a light shield and sword descended from the sky, with 3 yellow overlay units circling it.

Stellarknight Triverr  
ATK: 2100  
RANK: 4  
OVU: 3

"And because I Xyz Summoned this monster, all cards on the field return to the hand!" Rei declared, and Yuzu's two facedowns, along with her monsters, were destroyed.

"From my hand, I activate a spell card! It's called Stellarknight Alpha! With this, I can equip this card to one monster that I control, and it not only gains 500 ATK and DEF, it can't be effected by card effects!"

"What?!" Yuzu was surprised.

Stellarknight Triverr  
ATK: 2600/DEF: 3000

"Battle! Go, Triverr, and attack Yuzu directly!" the monster rushed toward the Pink-haired girl, raising his sword, before slashing the girl.

 **Yuzu LP: 1400**  
 **Hand: 5**

"Now, I'll overlay Stellarknight Triverr to rebuild the Overlay Network!" Rei declared, and the red spiral reopened, with Triverr sinking inside.

"How is that even possible?" Yuzu wondered, but then remembered from her sessions with Shun. _"Does he mean..."_

"XYZ CHANGE!" Rei shouted out, as the portal exploded. "Great deity that resides transcends space and time, reveal your true form and shine your holy light! Now, descend before us!" A dragon, silver in color and embedded with jewels, spread its wings and let out a mighty roar, 4 yellow overlay units circling it. "Stellarknight Constellar Diamond!"

Stellarknight Constellar Diamond  
ATK: 2700  
RANK: 5  
OVU: 4

"A-Amazing..." Yuzu breathed, impressed and intimidated by Rei's ace.

"Impressed, are you? I place one card facedown!" Rei's card appeared. "My turn's finished!"

 _"All right. He has all kinds of crazy summoning methods for his cards,"_ Yuzu thought, before looking at her hand. She then gave off a smirk. "My turn!" Yuzu went for her deck. _"If I don't draw something this turn, then he'll pull something that just as may finish off my life points..."_ Yuzu looked at Rei, with a gleam of confidence in her eyes. "DRAW!" musical notes wrapped around the pinkette as she drew her card.

Yuzu looked at her card, and smiled when she saw what it was. "From my hand, I play the Spell Card, Polymerization!"

Rei smirked. _"There it is."_ he thought to himself.

"With this card, I can fuse the Aria in and Mozarta the Melodious Maestra from my hand!" The two monsters swirled into a portal, becoming one. "Angel's song! Supreme genius! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power!" Yuzu clasped her hands, lifting them above her head. "Fusion Summon!" the pinkette declared, bringing her hands down. "Now come here to the stage!" The pink petals opened, revealing a young woman with pale skin wearing an extravagant dress. "Sing the song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!"

Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 6

"Wow! Lady Yuzu's ace is here!" Rei chattered, practically frothing at the mouth.

"Don't get too excited, Rei, because this is the end! Battle! Bloom Diva attacks Constellar Diamond!" Bloom Diva began to sing, impacting the Wyrm. "And because it battling a Special Summoned monster, I can deal damage to you equal to the difference of my monster's ATK and your monster's original ATK! Resonate Wave!" The petaled monster intensified it's singing.

"Oh man, it's Bloom Diva's effect! Man, I almost feel sorry!" Rei chirped.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Yuzu asked.

"Sorry that I activate my Trap Card! Stellarknight Alpha! When a card effect is activated, I can release one "tellarknight" monster, to negate the activation!" Rei's Wyrm card was pulled into the darkness, as was Bloom Diva.

"What the?!" Yuzu cried.

"Because I negated the activation this turn, I can destroy the card that had its effect negated!" Rei said, putting his hand on his deck. "With that, I can draw a card!" the orange-haired boy drew his card.

"Tch... I set one card facedown. Turn end." Yuzu muttered, her facedown appearing.

"My turn! Draw!" Rei drew his card, and immediately, as he saw the card he drew, his heart sunk. "Dammit... why is this here?!" the boy gritted through his teeth as he saw the card that he drew.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Yuzu asked him.

Rei turned back toward her, and muttered, "I summon Satellarknight Rigel." Rei's voice lost any sort of cheer in it, as he summoned his monster.

Satellarknight Rigel  
ATK: 1900  
LEVEL: 4

"Rigel's effect activates. Once per turn, I can increase the ATK of a "tellarknight" monster on the field. I equip those points to Rigel." Rei explained, his voice still deadpan.

Satellarknight Reigel  
ATK: 2400

"Battle. Satellarknight Rigel attacks you directly." Rei declared, and the monster brought down its huge mace, ready to strike.

"My facedown card activates! Foolish Decision!" Yuzu's facedown card flipped up. "If I were to take Battle Damage this turn, by activating this card, I take no damage from this battle!" a barrier protected the Melodious user from the mace.

"Tch." Rei went. "My turn's finished. At this time, due to Satellarknight Rigel's effect, he will be sent to Graveyard during the End Phase." Rei's monster began to dissipate. "Hurry up and make your last move."

Yuzu got up, slowly, putting her hand on her deck, declaring, "It's... my turn!" she drew her card, smiling widely. "I activate I activate Monster Reborn, to revive my Mozarta from the Graveyard!" Yuzu declared, and the songstress monster reappeared.

Mozarta the Melodious Maestra  
ATK: 2600  
LEVEL: 8

Rei had a small smile on his face. _"It looks like I'm beaten. I expected no less from her."_

"Mozarta, attack Rei directly! Graceful Wave!" the monster pointed the baton at Rei, unleashing a huge amount of energy. The orange-haired boy was knocked back by the force of Moztarta's attack.

 **Yuzu LP: 1400 - WIN**

 **Shingetsu LP: 0**

Yuzu's picture appeared, with the word 'WIN' on it, as the Solid AR vanished. Yuzu ran over to the fallen boy, kneeling down to meet his face.

"Hey, hey are you are you okay?" the pinkette asked, and the boy's purple eyes began to flutter open.

"That..." Rei looked over at Yuzu. "That... THAT WAS AN AWESOME DUEL!" he yelled, as loud as everyone around them could hear. "The way you turned it around in the final turn, and how revived one of your Fusion materials to finish me off, it was all amazing!" Rei said, getting a bit too close to Yuzu's face, while stars were in his eyes. "I knew that I made the right choice by facing the original!"

Yuzu raised an eyebrow. _"Original...?"_

"Here! You most definitely deserve this!" Rei handed her a Medal, only this one was a bit larger, and golden in color.

"This is..." Yuzu said as she took the medal from him.

"You deserve it! Really! Thank you for such a great duel!" Rei said.

"But wait..." Yuzu said, looking back at the purple-eyed boy. "I thought you said that you didn't have any medals."

Rei choked, and began to stammer. "W-Well..." Rei began, but was cut off by a loud "YUZU!"

The pinkette turned to the source of the voice, and saw her team running towards her. "Guys!" she said, running up to them. Almost immediately, Rio went up to Yuzu, grabbing her arms, asking, "Are you alright? Did you get hurt in any way?"

"No, I was just dueling some weird boy, I won, and obtained this!" Yuzu said, showing them the Gold Medal.

"Wow!" Fuya exclaimed.

"That's a Gold Medal!" Anna said, amazed. "That's said to be equivalent to 5 Bronze Medals!"

"Yeah, this Rei guy gave..." Yuzu stopped her sentence, turning around, seeing Rei not there.

"Who?" Anna asked.

"Never mind. Why were you even worried, anyways? I can perfectly hold my on in a duel, you know!" Yuzu told the girl.

"It was just-" Rio began, but then remembered what Mizael told her about Yuzu.

*Flashback*

 _"What do want Yuzu for?"_ Rio asked, looking intensely at the dragon tamer.

Mizael looked at Anna and Fuya, then leaned in Rio's ear, and whispered something to her that made her pink eyes shake with fear. Mizael backed up from her ear, and told her, _"Please, don't tell anyone unless your life depends on it. Please, someone has to stop... him."_ Mizael hopped back on his dragon, which began to fly away.

*End Flashback*

"Rio? What's wrong?" the pinkette asked, trying to get through to the Barian, who snapped out of her daydream.

"Uh, it's nothing." Rio told the girl, putting on a forced smile, hiding the truth from her. "Come on, we have to find more duels." Rio took Yuzu's hand.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Rei ran off behind a building just in time when he saw Rio and her friends. As he peered his head out of the corner of his eye. "Phew..." he breathed. "I actually got away in time... If Merag had seen me, then..." Rei said, before taking out the final card he drew from his pocket. _"I know that chose to lose to her, but she made me look like such a fool. And to make things worse, I had to draw this card...!"_ Rei looked at his card: Rank-Up-Magic - The Seventh One. "Damn!" he cursed, his eyes losing his shine.

Rei was then surrounded by many large men. All of them had angry looks on their faces, and wielded weapons.

"Hey, there's the kid who stole our medals!" the leader said.

"Alright kid, hand 'em over, right now! Unless you want us to do this the hard way!" another ordered, brandishing his bat.

"I think you don't want to do that." the orange haired boy told the duelists, his voice becoming deeper and more viscous.

"Or what? You gonna piss 'ourself an' cry to mommy?" the third said, his voice peppered with a Brooklyn accent.

The Number '104' flashed in dark blue, and a monster obscured by light knocked out all the men that surrounded him.

"Aww, I really wanted to have some fun with them, but it seems that it wasn't meant to be..." he said, smiling widely. The boy looked around the corner, and back at Yuzu, flashing his teeth. _"We'll meet again, Yuzu... And we'll recreate everything together... My darling Yuzu..._

* * *

 **(DBZ Narrator voice) Wha-oh! Looks like Vector's crashing the party! And he wants Yuzu, but what for?! *cough* God, that voice is hard to do. But, yeah, this is the start of one of the 'plots' of the fanfic, and will ride all the way to the finals.  
**

 **If you liked this chapter, give me a review, and until next time, stay fazeless.**


	8. The LDS Students: Part 1

**Dang, Aze!** **Back at it again with the story updates! (ECH... Why is that a thing...) Anyways, the Yu-boys STILL aren't in this chapter, but I promise they'll be here soon.**

 **Soon.**

* * *

As they continued towards their destination, Kaito took on Kotori in a duel once again, in order to practice for their upcoming duels, while Yuma and Shark, once again, were watching from the sidelines.

Kotori's field: Master Hyperion, Sanctuary in the Sky (Field Spell), United we Stand (Equip)

Kaito's field: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, no facedowns

Master Hyperion  
ATK: 3500 (Due to United We Stand's effect)  
LEVEL: 8

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon  
ATK: 3000  
LEVEL: 8

"Battle!" Kotori declared. "Go, Master Hyperion, and attack Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Hyperion charged energy in between his hands, before firing the multicolored beam at Kaito's ace monster.

Kaito smirked. "Pointless. Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's effect activates!" Kaito's ace monster began to glow, and both it and Hyperion disintegrated. "When this monster battles, I can banish both it and the attacking monster!"

"What?!" Kotori cried, surprised that her mentor was able to do such a move.

"And now, I activate the effect of Dimension Wanderer!" Kaito declared, the card glowing. "When a monster is banished by Galaxy-Eyes' effect, I can discard this card from my hand, and deal 3000 points of damage to my opponent!"

"Oh no!" Kotori's D-Pad began to crackle, before sending numerous jolts of electricity coursing through her. She fell to her knees, disappointed.

 **Kaito LP: 500 - WIN**

 **Kotori LP: 0**

Kaito's picture appeared with the word "WIN", as the Solid AR vanished. Kaito walked up to Kotori, knelt down, and smiled at her. "Good job. You almost had me that time."

Kaito gave his hand to the greenette, who accepted it. "Thanks." she smiled at the former Numbers Hunter.

"YAAAAWWN~!" went a voice, male. The 3 turned towards Yuma, who had yawned out of pure boredom. "Hey, Kaito, I get that we're training Kotori and all, but we haven't even participated in the tournament yet, and the day's half over!"

Shark sighed. "While I see where Kaito's coming from trying to prepare Kotori, Yuma's right." Shark pulled up a chart on his D-Pad, tracking the progress of the tournament. "At this time, these are the rankings for the tournament progressions. The standings, as they are now, it seems 10% of the participants have been eliminated already. If we stay complacent as we are now, we'll be in the dead last when qualifying for the tournament finals." Shark put away his D-Pad, and the blonde began to think to himself.

"Okay, fine," Kaito said, looking at the sky, which had just turned orange. "Seeing as how the day is almost over, we can start obtaining qualifying medals now." Kaito smiled, as the rest of his team smiled. As they began walking, a pair of light blue eyes watched them from the bushes. All of a sudden, a figure leapt out of those same bushes. The boy had looked about 14, wearing a Miami Second Middle School uniform, and brown and blond hair in layers (which had branches stuck in it).

"I heard that you wanted to duel." the boy said, pointing at Kotori. "And I heard that you're an inexperienced duelist!" he then pointed his thumb at himself. "Why take lessons from that deadweight, when you could learn from someone like me?" he smiled, his teeth sparkling. "After all, I possess all the noteworthy traits of Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto! Tactic, Judgement, Willpower, and Good looks!" the Japanese characters for each word appeared behind the teen as he said those words. "All these words and more, describe me, Shingo Sawatari!" the teen- named Sawatari, apparently, struck a pose as fireworks went off behind him, spelling out his name.

"Now, how about you take me up on my offer and-" Sawatari began, and he stopped when he saw that the quartet had walked away from him. He looked behind him, seeing the quartet, and running in front of them once again, outstreaching his arms to block their path.

"Okay, look!" Sawatari ordered, becoming increasingly angrier. "I offered you a good deal right now, and if you're not going to take it, then-" the teen was cut off by a fist to the face by the Barian, causing him to wince and yell in pain.

Yuma looked at Shark, asking, "Why... Why did you do that?" The purple haired boy turned to his friend. "He was in my way. Also, he was annoying as hell."

Sawatari removed his hands from his face, a bit of blood dripping from his nose. "How... dare... you!" the teen took out a handkerchief, wiping his bloody nose. "I offered you a good deal, and tried to be civil, but now, you've awakened a burning flame within me, one that only can be extinguished by dueling!" the blonde boy pointed at the group. "Now accept my challenge!"

Yuma smirked, getting out his duel disk. "Alright, if it's a challenge you want, it's a challenge you've got! I'm gonna bring it-" the black-and-red haired teen was cut off by an arm with a black coat sleeve.

"I'll be your opponent." Kaito said, gaining Sawatari's interest. "Oh, by all means! I just hope that you won't be disappointed after I've utterly defeated you!" Kaito held up one finger.

"This is how many turns it'll take for me to defeat you."

Sawatari let out a huge laugh. "One turn? Oh, you MUST be smoking something!" the teen put his duel disk on his arm. "Now, come at me!

Kaito threw his duel disk into the air, and, like a boomerang, came back to him as his duel disk clicked onto his wrist. His blue D-Gazer Tattoo formed on his left eye, turning his iris completly red.

"DUEL!"

 **Kaito LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **V.S.**

 **Sawatari LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"I'll take the first move!" Sawatari looked at his cards, and immediately smirked. "With the Scale 3 Yosenju Shinchu L and the Scale 5 Yosenju Shinchu R, I set the Pendulum Scale!" he placed the cards at opposite ends of the disk, the word 'PENDULUM' appearing in rainbow letters. The two gate monsters rose up in blue pillars, the numbers '3' and '5' appearing under them.

"What the heck?" Shark was surprised at what the teen did.

"Yosenju Shinchu R's effect activates! Once per turn, when there is another 'Yosenju' monster in my Pendulum Zone, I can turn its Pendulum Scale up to 11!" Yosenju Shinchu R's Pendulum Scale suddenly went up to 11. "With this, I can Special Summon monsters from Level 4 to 10, all at once!" A portal opened up between the two monsters, a tornado coming from the portal. "PENDULUM SUMMON! Oh, wind-clad chief of phantoms! With your raging cloak, gouge those lands! Come forth, Mayosenju Daibakaze!" A animal, resembling a giant tiger, only made of green winds, decended onto the field.

Mayosenju Daibakaze  
ATK: 3000  
LEVEL: 10

"What the heck?!" Kotori cried.

"How'd he summon such a high-level monster on his first turn?" Yuma said, shocked.

"That has got to be illegal!" Shark growled.

"Since I can't attack on the first turn, consider yourself lucky that I end my turn here!" Sawatari sneered, flicking his bangs.

 _"Damn..."_ Kaito mentally cursed, staring at the monster. _"Even if I do manage to get out Galaxy-Eyes, that thing matches its strength..."_ But all of a sudden, Daibakaze began to waver, before disappearing completely. "What?" the blonde said, surprised.

"Oh, crap!" Sawatari looked at the the card that he had brought out, and read over its effect. "Because I Special Summoned this monster this turn, I have to return it to my hand during the End Phase..." Sawatari moved the card back to his hand.

Kaito stared at the teen with half-lidded eyes, drawing his card. "I summon Galaxy-Eyes Cloudragon." A tiny dragon began forming from a single Photon, before multiplying into its true form.

Galaxy-Eyes Cloudragon  
ATK: 300  
LEVEL: 1

"Cloudragon's effect activates!" Cloudragon began to glow brightly. "By tributing this monster, I can Special Summon one 'Galaxy-Eyes' monster from my hand!" Galaxy-Eyes Cloudragon morphed into a large red shuriken, which appeared next to Kaito.

"What the heck is that?!" Sawatari exclaimed.

Kaito threw the shuriken into the air."The galaxy that lurks in the darkness, Become the light of hope and my very servant!" The shuriken began to disperse stars. "The embodiment of light, now descend! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" The shuriken began to morph into a large dragon, who had the power of the Galaxy in his eye, and spread its wings as it let out a huge roar.

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon  
ATK: 3000  
LEVEL: 8

"There it is!" Kotori cheered.

"It's Kaito's ace monster!" Yuma cheered, jumping in the air. "With that on the field, there's no way that punk stands a chance!"

"OH NO!" Sawatari screamed, but then realized something. "Heh, but even if you attack me directly with that thing, I'll still have 1000 Life Points! So it looks like you WON'T be finishing this in one turn after all!" he then let out a huge laugh.

"My turn isn't over yet, because I activate the Ritual Spell Card, Luminous Dragon Ritual!" Kaito discarded one card. "By tributing a card or cards that have a level that equals to 4, I can Ritual Summon this: Paladin of Photon Dragon!" an armored knight riding on a dragon (similar to Galaxy-Eyes) appeared out of a portal.

Paladin of Photon Dragon  
ATK: 1900  
LEVEL: 4

"T-That's way too much!" Sawatari griped.

"Battle! Go, Paladin of Photon Dragon! Attack directly!" The dragon charged at Sawatari, jabbing the teen with his lance.

 **Sawatari LP: 2100**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Ngh..." Sawatari groaned.

"Now, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, attack him directly!" Galaxy-Eyes reared it's head back, charging a ball of blue energy in its mouth. "Destructive Photon... STREAM!" Galaxy-Eyes fired the stream of energy at the teen. "GEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Sawatari yelled, knocked back from the force of the attack.

 **Kaito LP: 4000 - WIN**

 **Sawatari LP: 0**

Kaito's picture appeared with the word 'WIN' on it, as the Solid AR Vision began to fade. Sawatari got up, gritting his teeth. "How dare you... How did you beat me?!"

Kaito retracted his duel disk, taking it off his wrist. "I didn't beat you. You lost because of your own stupidity." Kaito turned around, facing away from the teen.

Sawatari pointed his finger at Kaito, a vein popping in his forehead. "Oh yeah?! Well, get ready, because the next time you see me, you're going down!" the brown-blonde haired teen clenched his fist. "From this day forward, you are officially my rival!" Sawatari ran off, tripping once.

"Well, that was short, and rather anticlimactic." Shark remarked, stretching out his arms. The other two teens stood up, following the the black-coated duelist.

"You'll have to excuse our teammate." A voice called out, female. Out of the bushes, 3 people, 2 boys, and one girl, faced the 4 duelists.

"Yeah, Sawatari can be a bit thickheaded, most of, no, almost all of the time." the boy, who had purple hair, commented.

"However, if you're looking for some people to duel," the wild-haired boy began, as all three of them put their duel disks on their wrists. "We can fill the part." the boy gave off a smirk.

"All right! Now this is what I'm talking about! I've been waiting for this kind of duel all day!" Yuma clicked his D-Pad onto his wrist, but then noticed that Kaito to the side. "Hey, Kaito, you're not getting in on this?"

Kaito closed his eyes, saying, "I've already dueled today."

"But this is a 3-on-3 duel! Who else could get in on this?" Shark asked, to which the blonde pointed to the greenette, and she was surprised.

"ME?!" Kotori cried, surprised. "B-But I still don't think that I'm ready!"

"Hey, are you going to talk or duel?" the dark-skinned girl asked.

 _"Okay, this is my first real duel. These guys look really tough, too."_ Kotori thought, staring at her opponents. _"I know that, unlike Yuma and Shark, these guys won't be holding back."_ Kotori threw her D-Pad and D-Gazer into the air. "Duel Disk, set!" Her D-Pad clicked onto her wrist. "D-Gazer, set!" her D-Gazer flipped onto her face.

 **"SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED."** the Solid AR vision said, the area warping into the Solid Augmented Reality.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuma/Shark/Kotori LP: 4000**

 **V.S.**

 **Masumi/Yaiba/Hokuto LP: 4000**

"This is a tag duel, and since we all share life points, neither of us can attack or draw cards until everyone has taken a turn!" Yaiba exclaimed. "I'll take the first move!" Yaiba looked at his hand. "I'll summon XX-Saber Boggart Knight!" a knght wearing silver armor, along with a red cape, appeared on the field.

XX-Saber Boggart Knight  
ATK: 1900  
LEVEL: 4

"I activate Boggart Knight's effect! As I Normal Summoned Boggart Knight, I can Special Summon 1 'X-Saber' Monster from my hand! I summon the Level 1 Tuner Monster, X-Saber Palomuro!"

X-Saber Palomuro  
ATK: 200  
LEVEL: 1

"Tuner monster?" Shark realized.

"And because I control 2 'X-Saber' Monsters, I can Special Summon XX-Saber Faultroll!" a bigger monster, cloaked with red armor and a huge sword, showed itself.

XX-Saber Faultroll  
ATK: 2400  
LEVEL: 6

"And now, I Tune the Level 4 XX-Saber Boggart Knight into the Level 1 X-Saber Palomuro!" Yaiba exclaimed, the reptile monster turning into a single light, then turning into a green ring. Boggart Knight went through the ring, turning into 4 stars. "Synchro Summon! Come forth, X-Saber Wayne!" The monster had tattered blue clothing, anda cowboy hat, while armed with a knife gun.

X-Saber Wayne  
ATK: 2100  
LEVEL: 5

"Whoa, a Synchro Summon!" Yuma exclaimed.

"My turn's not done! Wayne's effect activates! During the turn this monster was Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon one monster from my hand to the field, and I choose XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!" a young man clad with armor, with flowing blond hair appeared.

XX-Saber Fulhelmknight  
ATK: 1300  
LEVEL: 3

"I activate Faultroll's effect!" Yaiba declared. "I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 monster from the graveyard this turn. I choose XX-Saber Boggart Knight!" the warrior reappeared out of a graveyard portal.

XX-Saber Boggart Knight  
ATK: 1900  
LEVEL: 4

"I tune the Level 4 Boggart Knight into the Level 3 Fulhelmknight!" Fulhelmknight leapt into the air, turing into 3 stars, which turned into green rings. The rings went around Boggart Knight, 'scanning' the monster. "Wielder of crossed blades of light, trample over this mountain of corpses!" The stars became a single beam of light now. "Synchro Summon! Come forth, X-Saber Souza!" The monster had an 'X' on his forehead, a tattered red cape, wielded two swords, and slashed with both before striking a pose.

X-Saber Souza  
ATK: 2500  
LEVEL: 7

"Finally, I'll set one card facedown." Yaiba's facedown appeared. "My turn's finished."

" _Did he just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?_ " Kotori thought to herself.

"It's my turn!" Hokuto looked at his hand, smirking. "I summon Constellar Alegiedi." Hokuto summoned his monster, and it was an armor-clad woman, weilding a staff.

Constellar Algiedi  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"Algiedi's effect activates! When this card is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 Monster from my hand! I Special Summon Constellar Kaus!" Another armored monster, this time wielding a bow and arrow, appeared out of a portal of light.

Constellar Kaus  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"Kaus' effect activates! Twice per turn, I can choose two monsters and either increase or decrease their levels by 1! I increase the levels of Algiedi and Kaus by 1!" Hokuto declared.

Constellar Kaus  
LEVEL: 5

Constellar Algiedi  
LEVEL: 5

"And now, I overlay my two Constellars to build the Overlay Network!" Hokuto chanted, his two monsters turning into yellow spheres of energy. A galaxy portal opened up, both monsters going inside. "Light of the stars, descend and shake this very earth!" A light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Rank 5! Constellar Pleiades" The monster that appeared wore silver-gold armor, and wielded an irregular staff.

Constellar Pleiades  
ATK: 2500  
RANK: 5

"Futhermore, I set 1 card facedown." Hokuto's facedown appeared on the field. "Turn End."

Shark looked at the monsters. _"Xyz, Synchro... does that mean that the other one uses..."_

"It's my turn!" Masumi looked at her hand. "I activate the Spell Card, Gem-Knight Fusion! With this, I can Fusion Summon 1 card with cards from my hand! I fuse Gem-Knight Tourmaline, Obsidian, and Garnet!" The monsters merged together, into a portal.

"I knew it!" Shark exclaimed.

"Is she..." Yuma began.

"Sharp jet-black darkness! Gem tinged in lightning! Red flame engulfed in fury! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance!" A light portal opened up. "Fusion Summon! Dazzling lady, Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond!" The woman was clad in armor, and swung her sword a few times before striking a pose.

Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond  
ATK: 3400  
LEVEL: 10

"Next, I'll summon Gem-Knight Alexandrite!" Masumi said, her monster appearing on the field.

Gem-Knight Alexandrite  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"Lady Diamond's effect activates! When I control a 'Gem-Knight' monster, I can tribute that monster, and in exchange, I can Special Summon 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck." Masumi explained, her monster began to morph. "Gem-Knight Master Diamond, Special Summon!" The armor-clad monster had a sword with many gems embedded inside of it. "Also, this card gains 100 ATK for each Gem-Knight monster in my graveyard."

Gem-Knight Master Diamond  
ATK: 2900 - 3300  
LEVEL: 9

"With that, my turn's finished." Masumi declared, and she held out her hand. "Now, show us what you've got."

"That's a lot of monsters..." Kotori whimpered.

"Do you think we can win?" Shark then looked at Yuma. "Yuma, what do you think?"

Yuma had his head down for quite a while, not saying a thing. "Yuma?" Kotori said, worried. Yuma then snapped his head up, and smirked. "Alright! This is the type of duel that I've been waiting for!" Yuma pumped his fist. "Get ready, guys, because we're about to bring it to 'em!"

* * *

 **AAAND two parter! Yep, I really didn't want to do this, but you may be asking, "Aze, why are the ZeXal characters facing the LDS characters?" Well, let's say a certain president might want to get in on it... But until the next update, stay Fazeless.**


	9. The LDS Students: Part 2

***CRASHES IN ROOM* OH GOD, IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS! *HASTILY PUTS CHAPTER TOGETHER* There. I swear, after next chapter, Yuya and his brothers are coming back, I swear. Author's honor.**

 **Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V and ZeXaL - © Kazuki Takahashi**

* * *

"Just listen to me!" Swatari pleaded with the scarved duelist. The gray-haired man turned to Sawatari. "Why should I help you, exactly?" Reiji pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"Because..." Sawatari was now balling his fists in frustation. "One of those duelists was super powerful!" He remebered back to the duel he had. "On his first turn alone, he defeated me using ultra-powerful cards!"

Reiji began to walk past the teen, saying, "That remains your problem, not mine. Now, come, show me." Sawatari was puzzled at what he had just said. "What did you just say?"

"Like you said, Sawatari, this duelist is apparently strong." Reiji looked at the teen again. "So, in that case, let's see exactly how strong these duelists are."

* * *

"My turn!" Yuma looked at his hand, but then looked at the opponents monsters.

Masumi's field:

Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond  
ATK: 3400  
LEVEL: 10

Gem-Knight Master Diamond  
ATK: 3300 (effect)  
LEVEL: 9

Hokuto's field: 1 facedown

Constellar Pleiades  
ATK: 2500  
RANK: 5  
ORU: 2

Yaiba's field: 1 facedown

X-Saber Wayne  
ATK: 2100  
LEVEL: 5

XX-Saber Faultroll  
ATK: 2400  
LEVEL: 6

X-Saber Souza  
ATK: 2500  
LEVEL: 7

 _"Damn,"_ the blue-and-pink haired teen mentally cursed. _"With those powerful monsters, it's not like I can do anything right now..."_ 3 cards appeared, with one of them being a monster in Defense Mode "I'll set 3 cards facedown. Turn End."

 _"The monster I set facedown is Gogogo Golem. Once per turn, it can't be destroyed in battl, and even if they do, my Trap Card will stop them."_ Yuma thought.

"It's my turn." Shark looked at his hand. Smirking, he took out a card. "When my opponents control 2 or more monsters on their side of the field, I can Special Summon Eagle Shark." Shark explained, and a six-finned shark appeared on Shark's field.

Eagle Shark  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 5

"Eagle Shark's effect activates! When I control 1 'Eagle Shark', I can Special Summon Panther Shark from my hand!" Shark declared, and a purple-and-yellow fish appeared out of a torrent of water.

Panther Shark  
ATK: 1100  
LEVEL: 5

"Two level 5 monsters?" Hokuto sneered.

"Level 5 Panther Shark and Eagle Shark! Overlay!" Both monsters turned fully blue, and both spiraled into the air. A galaxy portal opened up, and both monsters went inside, with water surrounding the duelists. "The holy drop falls into the Chaos, and shows it's true power when said Chaos is purified!" The monster's sealed form appeared out of the body of water. "Xyz summon! Come forth, Numbers 73: Abyss Splash!" The monster glowed, appearing out of it's sealed form wearing blue armor, and a white cape, before grabbing his staff.

Number 73: Abyss Splash  
ATK: 2400  
RANK: 5  
ORU: 2

"Like I thought, they do use Xyz monsters." Hokuto jeered.

"That's right, we do! The only difference is that we aren't complete frauds about it, like you!" Shark fired back, angering the teen. "Turn end." The WATER duelist turned his head to his teammate. "Kotori, It's your turn! Show them what you can do!"

"R-Right!" Kotori looked at her hand. "I summon Warrior of Zera!" She placed the monster on the duel disk.

Warrior of Zera  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

She then heard the snickering of all 3 of her opponents, making her aggravated. "What's so funny?!"

"It's so obvious that you're an amateur!" Yaiba snickered.

"How are you going to be friends with Yuma Tsukumo and summon a weak as heck monster like that?!" Hokuto jeered.

"A non-Effect monster against 6 Special Summoned monsters? You must not be very knowledgeable in Duel Monsters, are you?" Masumi commented. The greenette puffed out her cheeks, and a vein popped in her forehead.

"Don't let them get to you, Kotori." Shark said, making the girl ease her face, and turn toward her teammates.

"Yeah! We've only gotten started with this duel, so there's no need to worry!" Yuma stated.

Hokuto smirked, and then Zera's physical form began to waver. "W-What?!" the greenette cried, and saw Hokuto snickering. "What's so funny?!"

"Constellar Pleiades' effect: Once per turn, by detaching one overlay unit, I can target one monster on the field, and return it to the hand. Because your Warrior of Zera was a Normal Monster, there was nothing you could do to prevent this effect!" Hokuto sneered, making a mocking face.

"Tch... Turn End." Kotori said, reluctantly.

"It's time to make this duel a bit more interesting! Draw!" Yaiba drew his card. "Facedown, open!" Yaiba's facedown card flipped up. "Gottoms' Emergency Call! When this card is activated, I can target two monsters in my Graveyard, and Special Summon them to my field! I choose XX-Saber Fulhelmknight and Palomuro!" Both monsters came onto the field out of Graveyard portals.

X-Saber Palomuro  
ATK: 200  
LEVEL: 1

XX-Saber Fulhelmknight  
ATK: 1300  
LEVEL: 3

"Those things again?!" Shark exclaimed.

"And now, I tune my Level 6 Faultroll into my Level 3 Fulhelmknight!" Fulhelmknight jumped into the air, turning into 3 orbs of light. "Let your silver armor shine and crush the hope of everything that opposes you!" The orbs of light then turned into 3 rings, surrounding Faultroll, 'scanning' the monster. A flash of light occured through the rings. "Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! Double-X-Saber Gottoms!" The monster was a giant knight, which had silver armor, and a red scarf. He slashed the air a couple of times, and then struck a pose.

XX-Saber Gottoms  
ATK: 3100  
LEVEL: 9

"Check out the attack on that monster!" Yuma exclaimed.

"Gottoms' effect activates! I can tribute any number of X-Saber monsters on my field, and make one opponent discard their cards! I tribute 4 X-Saber monsters!" 4 of Yaiba's monsters disappeared. "And the person's hand I choose... Is the littlest bird, Kotori!"

"What?!" the greenette exclaimed, before Yaiba picked 3 of Kotori's cards, forcing her to discard them. "That just shows entirely how useless you and your deck are!" Yaiba smirked. "However, no modifications you make to your deck can stop this! Battle! XX-Saber Gottoms attacks Abyss Splash!" Gottoms rose its sword, slashing it across Abyss Splash, but the monster stood tall.

 **Shark LP: 4000 - 3300**  
 **Hand: 2**

Shark let out a breath. "You may have struck my monster, but Numbers can't be destroyed in battle except by other Numbers." The WATER duelist shot a smirk.

"Oh, we know." Yaiba said, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Turn end."

"Now the real fun's about to begin! Draw!" Hokuto drew his card. "I activate Constellar Pleiades's effect once again! I return Yuma's facedown card to his hand!" The facedown card Yuma had, which was revealed to be Half Unbreak, disappeared.

"Oh crap!" Yuma exclaimed.

"And now, I activate my facedown, Constellar Star Cradle! Once per turn, I can select two 'Constellar' monsters in my graveyard, and add them to my hand!" Hokuto explained, his two cards shooting out of the graveyard slot. "And now, I summon Constellar Alegedi!" The knight reappeared on the field.

Constellar Alegedi  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

"Alegedi's effect activates! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a 'Constellar' monster from my hand! I Summon Constellar Kaus!" The second monster showed itself.

Constellar Kaus  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"Now, I activate Kaus' effect! I can change the levels of two monsters!" both Constellar monsters began to glow.

Constellar Alegedi  
LEVEL: 5

Constellar Kaus  
LEVEL: 5

"He's doing it again?" Yuma questioned.

"I overlay Constellars Kaus and Alegedi to build the Overlay Network!" both monsters turned fully yellow, before spiraling into the air. A galaxy portal opened up, with both monsters going inside. "Xyz Summon! Rank 5! Constellar Pleaides!" A second knight, with gold-and-white armor, appeared out of a flash of light.

Constellar Pleiades  
ATK: 2500  
RANK: 5  
ORU: 2

"A second one?!" Kotori exclaimed.

"Because of Star Cradle's effect, I can't attack this turn. However, I can activate this! Constellar Star Cradle! By detaching all Overlay Units from my Xyz monsters, I can halve your Life Points!" A jolt of electricity went throught the three duelists.

 **Yuma/Shark/Kotori LP: 1650**

"I'm finished." Hokuto said. "Masumi, round 'em up!"

"Proudly! Draw!" Masumi drew her card. "Our opponents only have 1650 Life Points left, and my Lady Brilliant Diamond has way more ATK..." the dark-skinned girl smirked. "With this, our victory is assured." Masumi thrust her hand towards her opponents.

"Battle! Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond, attack Kotori directly!" The armored monster rushed toward the greenette.

 _"N-No, no it can't end like this!"_ Kotori thought, staring down the monster. _"I thought I was ready to face opponents like these, but in the end..."_ The monster raised her sword. _"I guess I was never strong enough to do anything on my own..."_ Slowly, the monster brought he sword down, but not before Kotori had tears forming in her eyes, bracing for impact. She closed her eyes, seeing the faces of her friends. _"Kaito... Shark... Yuma... I don't want you to worry about me! I don't want to a burden for you anymore! So why... why, now, of all times... WHY AM I STILL SO HELPLESS?!"_

As Lady Diamond brought down her sword, there was a flash of light.

"WHAT?!" Masumi cried.

"No way!" Hokuto exclaimed.

Kotori opened her eyes, and saw...

"Gagaga Guardna!" the girl wiped he tears, smiling at the monster.

Gagaga Guardna  
DEF: 2000  
LEVEL: 4

"How did she get that monster?! She's got no cards in her hand!" Yaiba snarled.

"I can answer that!" Yuma exclaimed. "When Masumi attacked directly, I Special Summoned Gagaga Gardna from my hand to protect Kotori. And even if you continue the battle, I can simply discard a card, and it won't be destroyed." Yuma said, making a vein pulsate in Masumi's head.

"Thanks, Yuma!" Kotori said, showing her gratitude.

"Kotori." Yuma said, getting her attention. "For the rest of this duel, I want you to keep my Gardna."

"But why?" the girl raised an eyebrow.

Yuma turned towards her. "Because I believe you can finish this."

"Why you..." the Gem-Knight Duelist came to a realization. "You did that to protect her, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So then, I'll just attack you instead! You have a mere facedown monster, and I have two monsters who are just itching to attack you!" Masumi remarked.

"What?! Oh man.." Yuma griped, but inside he was confident, due to the effect of Gogogo Golem.

"What's wrong? Didn't think of that when protecting your girlfriend? Go, Lady-"

"Not gonna happen! Continuous Trap, open! Bubble Bringer!" Shark said, cutting her off. "When this Trap Card is activated, All monsters higher than Level 4 can't attack directly!"

"Damn!" Masumi cursed. "My turn's done!"

"All right! I'm about to bring it to you! DRAW!" Yuma drew his card. "I tribute my facedown Gogogo Golem to summon my Gogogo Golem - Golden Form!" The golden monster appeared on the field.

Gogogo Golem - Golden Form  
ATK: ? - 3600  
LEVEL: 4

"And now, I summon Gogogo Giant!" Yuma stated, and his monster rose up from the ground.

Gogogo Giant  
ATK: 2000  
LEVEL: 4

"And because I Summoned a Level 4 monster, I get to Special Summon one of my favorites: Kagetokage!" the lizard crawled around in the shadows.

Kagetokage  
ATK: 1100  
LEVEL: 4

"Gogogo Giant's effect activates! When I Summon this card, I can Special Summon 1 'Gogogo' monster from my Graveyard! Come back, Gogogo Golem!" The monster came back out of a Graveyard portal.

Gogogo Golem  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"4 Level 4 monsters?!" Hokuto yelled.

"Level 4 Gogogo Giant and Kagetokage, Overlay! Level 4 Gogogo Golem and Gogogo Golem - Golden Form, Overlay!" the 4 monsters turned orange, while spiraling into the air. "With these two sets of 2 monsters, I build two Overlay Networks!" Two red spiral portals opened up, both sets of monsters going inside. "Xyz Summon!" two pillars of light shone from the portals. "Come forth, Gagaga Cowboy and Maestroke the Symphony Djinn!" appeared, striking a pose.

Gagaga Cowboy  
ATK: 1500  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 2

Maestroke the Symphony Djinn  
ATK: 1800  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 2

"Heh, what do you think you can do with those pathetic monsters?" Yaiba jeered. "Those Xyz Summons were impressive, but even if you get off their effects, it doesn't change the fact that they have less ATK than all our monsters!

Yuma smirked. "Is that so? Rank 4 Gagaga Cowboy and Maestroke the Symphony Djinn!" Both monsters turned orange and purple, respectively, and spiraled into the air. "With these two Xyz monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A galaxy portal opened up, and both monsters went inside. A bright light shone from the portal.

"Now appear, Future Numbers 0! Pegasus, be unleashed here and now, and run free as the wind into the future!" A warrior with red, orange, and white armor appeared. The monster spread its wings, grabbing his swords, two yellow Overlay Units circling it. "This is me, Creating Heaven And Earth! Xyz Summon!" Yuma opened his eyes, almost becoming one with the monster. "King of Futures - Utopic Future!"

Number F0: Utopic Future  
ATK: 0  
RANK: 0  
ORU: 2

"That monster has no Rank, ATK or DEF! What do you hope to accomplish with something like that?" Masumi asked.

"You're about to see what I'll do! Battle! Utopic Future, attack Constellar Pleiades!" Future rushed toward the monster, and raised its sword.

"Hah! You're wasting your time! That monster won't destroy anything but your Life Points!" Hokuto stated, as Future slashed the monster, and it dissipated. But much to his surprise, his monster reappeared on Yuma's field.

"WHAT?!"

"Utopic Future's effect: It cannot be destroyed by battle, and I don't take damage from this card's battles. If it battles, I can take control of one monster my opponent controls until the end of the Battle Phase." Yuma explained.

"Oh no! You mean there's nothing I can do to stop it?!" Hokuto realized.

"Constellar Pleiades, attack Hokuto's Constellar Pleides!" The monster raised its sword, and when it clashed with the monster, both monsters exploded on contact.

"Ngh! Turn End!" Yuma stated.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Shark drew his card. "Abyss Splash's effect activates! Once per turn, I can double this card's ATK!"

Number 73: Abyss Splash  
ATK: 4800  
ORU: 1

"Battle! Abyss Splash, attack XX-Saber Gottoms! Final Blow!" The monster pointed it's trident at the armored knight, destroying it. "And because I used it's effect this turn, all battle damage my monster inflicts is half!"

 **Yaiba LP: 3150**  
 **Hand: 1**

"Turn End!" Shark stated.

"Alright! It's my turn! Draw!" Kotori drew her card. Her face lit up with a smile as she drew her card. "Yes! I summon Little Fairy!" A young girl with fairy wings and a wand appeared from a sphere of light.

Little Fairy  
ATK: 800  
LEVEL: 3

"With a tiny monster like that, what do you plan to do?" Masumi asked.

"Little Fairy's effect activates! By discarding one card, I can increase this monster's level by one!" Kotori stated.

Little Fairy  
LEVEL: 4

"Level 4 Gagaga Gardna and Little Fairy, Overlay!" The monsters turned orange and yellow, respectively, spiraling into the air. A red spiral portal opened up, both monsters went inside. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" A bright light shone out from the portal. "The angel smiles for the hero who keeps on fighting! Xyz Summon! Please, appear now! Fairy Cheer Girl!"

The monster wore a blue dress, her hair matched her dress, and in her hands, were two pom-poms. The monster flew around a bit, before striking a pose, two yellow overlay units circling it.

Fairy Cheer Girl  
ATK: 1900  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 2

"Only a mere 1900 ATK?" Masumi wondered.

"Fairy Cheer Girl's effect activates! Once per turn, I can detach one Overlay Unit, and this allows me to draw 1 card!" Fairy Cheer Girl absorbed her Overlay Units into her pom-poms, and the Kotori placed her hand on her deck. "Fairy... DRAW!" She saw the card and was pleased when she saw the card, and remembered it, because it was given to her.

*Flashback*

 _"Hey Kotori!"_ the greenette turned around, seeing her longtime friend, Yuma, running towards her.

 _"Yuma!"_ Kotori turned towards him with a smile.

He stopped in front of her, smiling widely. _"I heard from Kaito that you were going to enter the tounament. Is that true?"_

 _"Yeah, why?"_

Yuma reached into his deck box, pulling out a single card. _"Here. Take this."_

 _"This is..."_

 _"Yeah! Since you're an inexperienced duelist, I thought that this would be a good card for you!"_ Yuma explained, wit the greenette taking the card.

*End Flashback*

"I activate the Spell Card, Minimum Guts! This turn, I can target one monster on the field, and make its ATK become Zero! I choose Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond!"

Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond  
ATK: 3400 - 0

"Oh no!" Masumi cried.

"I'm going to bring it to you! Fairy Cheer Girl! Attack Lady Diamond!" Fairy Cheer Girl shook her Pom-Poms, dusting off Fairy Dust as she did, destroying her monster.

 **Masumi LP: 1250**  
 **Hand: 4**

"And now, the effect of Minimum Guts makes it that controller of the destroyed monster takes damage equal to its ATK! So, in other words, you lose!"

Electricity coursed through the LDS' students Duel Disks, before shocking them, dealing damage to the trio.

 **Yuma/Shark/Kotori LP: 1650 - WIN**

 **Yaiba/Hokuto/Yaiba LP: 0**

Yuma, Shark, and Kotori's faces appeared, with the word "WIN" under their faces, as the Solid AR Vision disappeared. Yuma picked Kotori up, spinning her around, all the while shouting, "WE DID IT! WE ACTUALLY DID IT!" All the while, Shark smiled at his comrades. After putting her down, Kaito was smiling at his protege, a smile which she returned.

All of a sudden, the group heard slow clapping, followed by a deep voice saying, "Congratulations. Amazing teamwork." They turned to see a bespectacled young man, wearing white jeans, dark blue shirt, but his most striking trait were his long, LONG, scarf, gray hair, and neutral face.

"Now, give them your medals."

"C-Chairman!" Yaiba said, surprised.

"Isn't that..." Shark began.

"He's... he's Reiji Akaba!" Kaito said, in realization.

As the adolescent pushed up his glasses up his face, he would only say these words: "Now, entertain me."

* * *

 **CLIFFHANGER! BOOM! Make sure to read and review, cause it's always nice to see people reading this! Until the next chapter, Stay Fazeless!**


	10. Yuma vs Reiji, A Fated Duel

**It's me, it's me, it's that A-Z-E, back at it with that chapters and all that jazz... Enjoy.**

* * *

The group looked at the young man, who, a few moments, had said, "Now, entertain me."

"Isn't that..." Shark began.

"He's... he's Reiji Akaba!" Kaito said, in realization.

"That's right!" a voice said, coming from behind the young man, and walked from behind him, revealing Sawatari. The teen then pointed at Kaito. "And now, you're going to get your block knocked off, rival!"

Reiji looked at Sawatari, asking, "This is the strong duelist you were talking about?"

"Yeah, yeah! He's the guy who cheated against me using those ultra-powerful cards! They were so powerful, I couldn't do a thing against him!" Sawatari explained, before pointing at Kaito again. "And it's completely unforgivable, I tell you!"

"No, I'm afraid that wasn't the case." Kaito stated, standing up. "He lost due his own stupidity. I merely happened to duel him at the time."

"Why you!" Sawatari balled his fist, but Yuma stood right in front of him.

"Stop it!" Yuma held his arms out to his sides, getting in front of the brown-blonde haired teen. It was at this moment that Reiji noticed the Emperor's Key around Yuma's neck.

 _"That pendant..."_ Reiji thought, before walking up to Yuma. "Excuse me," Yuma looked up at the young man. "You wouldn't happen to know Kazuma Tsukumo, by any chance?"

"Of course I do! He is my dad, after all!" Yuma replied.

"Interesting." Reiji backed up, putting his Duel Disk on his wrist. "So then, you can be the one to duel with me, then." The blade unsheathed from his Duel Disk.

"What?" Sawatari griped, before pointing at Kaito once again. "But, I told you, that's the guy who-"

"Are you trying to test me?" Reiji glared at the teen.

Sawatari slinked down, backing away from the young man. "Sorry..."

Yuma, however, had the biggest grin on his face. "Alright! I'm about to bring it-" as he got out his duel gear, Shark put his hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on, Yuma." Shark warned. "You may want to pace yourself against this guy. I've heard that he's won the Youth Championship, Junior Youth Championship, and the Youth Championship from the Miami Championship. He's widely considered to be a Dueling genius in many circles."

"He's right, Yuma." Kaito said. "With his credentials, you should probably let one of us face him. You know, just to be safe."

"Don't worry, guys! We just beat 3 guys at one time! I'm sure I can beat one guy all by myself!" Yuma stated, giving a wink to his friends.

"I'm gonna bring it to you!" Yuma threw his D-Pad into the air, clicking onto his wrist and activated. "Duel Disk, set!" He threw his D-Gazer into the air, which landed onto his face. "D-Gazer, set!"

 **"SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED."** the Solid AR System said, warping the area around them into the Solid AR.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuma LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **V.S.**

 **Reiji LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"Good luck, Yuma!" Kotori cheered.

"Heh, he'll need luck if he wants to defeat the chairman." Hokuto remarked.

"I'll take the first move!" Yuma looked at his hand. "I summon Zubaba Knight!" The double-bladed knight came out of a flash of light.

Zubaba Knight  
LEVEL: 3  
ATK: 1600

"And then, I'll set 2 cards facedown!" Yuma's 2 facedowns appeared. "Turn End!"

"A Level 3 monster... My turn. Draw." Reiji drew his card. "I activate the Spell Card, Contract with the Hellgate! Once per turn, I can activate this card to add one D/D monster from my Deck to my hand." A card jutted out from Reiji's deck, and he added it to his hand. "And because of its effect, next turn, I will take 1000 points of damage."

"Wait, 1000 points? You'd seriously take that risk?" Yuma asked.

Shark narrowed his eyes. _"No, he's got something up his sleeve. I can feel it."_

"And now, because of the effect of D/D Swirl Slime in my hand, I can fuse it with my D/D Cerebus to Fusion Summon one D/D/D monster!" Reiji delared

"What?!" Yuma exclaimed.

A portal opened up behind Reiji, and his two monsters swirled into the portal. "Arcane swirl that takes in all forms! Engulf the hellhound, to give birth to a new king! Fusion Summon! Be born, D/D/D Flame King Temujin!" Out of flames, the monster appeared, weilding a red sword and shield.

D/D/D Flame King Temujin  
LEVEL: 6  
ATK: 2000

"Whoa, he actually Fusion Summoned on his first turn!" Yuma exclaimed, staring down the monster. "Amazing..."

"My turn isn't over. Because I haven't Normal Summoned this turn, I can summon D/D Lilith." The petaled monster showed itself on the field.

D/D Lilith  
LEVEL: 4  
ATK: 100

"Battle! D/D/D Flame King Temujin, attack Zubaba Knight!" The monster, engulfed in flames, started to rush toward Yuma's monster.

"Trap Card, open! Mirror Mail!" Yuma's facedown flipped up, and glowed. "When a monster attacks, I can change my monster's ATK equal to the attacking monster!" Yuma declared, as the two monsters clashed.

Zubaba Knight  
ATK: 2000

Both monsters were then destroyed in a fiery explosion. "Impressive strategy. Now, I'll set 2 cards facedown." Reiji's facedowns appeared. "My turn's over."

 _"Alright, if I manage to get out Utopia on this turn, I can probably destroy his D/D Lilith, and that'd give him 2400 points in damage."_ Yuma then stared at his facedown. _"But what if his facedown blocks that attack, or worse, destroys my monster?"_ Yuma's worried face turned into one of courage. "Even if that's the case, I won't know unless I try!"

Reiji's lips turned into a small smile. "They even have the same eyes..." he muttered.

 _"Is the chairman actually... smiling?!"_ Sawatari thought.

"My turn! Draw!" Yuma drew his card, smiling widely when he saw what it was. "Yes! I summon Gagaga Magician!" Yuma's signature Spellcaster arrived out of a dark portal.

Gagaga Magician  
LEVEL: 4  
ATK: 1500

"And because of the fact I summoned a Level 4 monster this turn, I can summon one of my favorites: Kagetokage!" The lizard crawled around on the ground, like a shadow.

Kagetokage  
LEVEL: 4  
DEF: 1500

"Alright! Now he has two Level 4 monsters!" Kotori cheered.

"I'm gonna bring it to you! Level 4 Gagaga Magician and Kagetokage, Overlay!" The two monsters turned fully purple, before spiraling into the air. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A galaxy portal opened up, with both monsters sailing inside. "Xyz Summon!" A bright light exploded from the portal. "Come forth, Number 39! King of Hope, Utopia!"

The Number '39' flashed in red, and from the dark clouds, Utopia's sealed form arose. With its silver wings unfolding, the monster let out a cry of "HOPE!", with 2 yellow Overlay Units circling it.

Number 39: Utopia  
RANK: 4  
ATK: 2500  
ORU: 2

"What? He actually managed to Xyz Summon his ace this early?" Hokuto sneered.

"Not bad. You truly are your father's son." Reiji said, getting the attention of Yuma once again. "However... you still have a ways to go. Quick-Play Spell Card: Xyz Encore, activate!" Reiji's facedown flipped up. "If there is a monster on the field with Overlay Units, I can return it to the Extra Deck."

"What?!" Yuma realized, as Utopia went back into the portal, the two purple orbs taking his place.

"And due to the effect of Xyz Encore, both monsters you used to Xyz Summon get Special Summoned in Defence Mode, however, their Levels are decreased by 1." Both monsters retook their monster forms.

Gagaga Magician  
LEVEL: 4 - 3  
ATK: 1000

Kagetokage  
LEVEL: 4 - 3  
DEF: 1500

"Damn it..." Yuma cursed. "Using Gagaga Magician's effect wouldn't work here, since I don't have any other monster on the field... Wait..." Yuma then came to a realization. "Level 3 Gagaga Magician and Kagetokage, Overlay!" Once again, the two monsters turned fully purple, and spiraled into the air. A red spiral portal opened up, both monsters sailing inside. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, wandering guitarist! Muzurythym the String Djinn!" the Djinn appeared, strumming a few notes on his guitar, two green Overlay Units circling it.

Muzurythym the String Djinn  
RANK: 3  
ATK: 1500  
ORU: 2

"Battle! Go, Muzurythym, attack D/D Lilith! Rhythmic String!" The Djinn started to strum it's guitar a few times, sending a wave of music towards Lilith. "Muzurythym's effect activates! By removing one Overlay Unit, I can double this Xyz monster's ATK!"

Muzurythym the String Djinn  
ATK: 3000

The monster's form began to waver a few times, and then was destroyed.

 **Reiji LP: 1100**  
 **Hand: 2**

"What the, he actually damaged the chairman?!" Yaiba said, in shock.

"He's only got 1100 Life Points left, and due to the effect of his Contract, he'll only have 100 Life Points left!" Yuma then he put on a confident face. "Looks like this guy wasn't as strong as he led himself on as! Hehehehe!"

"Just you wait, you little punk..." Masumi muttered.

"Turn End!" Yuma declared.

"My turn. Draw." Reiji drew his card. "At this time, due to the effect of Contract with the Hellgate, I will recieve 1000 points of damage." Reiji then clutched his chest, as there was a bunch of dark energy eminating from it.

 **Reiji LP: 100**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Yes!" Yuma cheered.

"At this time, I can Special Summon a monster."

"Wait, what?!"

"I Special Summon D/D/D Rebel King Leondias!" Reiji's monster was in the garb of a traditional Roman Knight, and a red cape.

D/D/D Rebel King Leonidias  
LEVEL: 7  
ATK: 2600

"And because he was Special Summoned, I gain Life Points equal to the damage that was dealt to me due to an effect." Reiji explained, and his monster shone a light down on him.

 **Reiji LP: 1100**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Man..." Yuma griped. "But, he still has 1100 Life Points, and that should be enough to finish him off!"

"I summon the Level 3 Tuner, D/D Night Howling!" Reiji summoned his monster, which growled at Yuma, making the red-eyed boy jump back.

D/D Night Howling  
LEVEL: 3  
ATK: 300

"Tuner monster?" Kotori wondered.

"Does that mean he's..." Kaito realized.

"Night Howling's effect activates! I can Special Summon 1 D/D Monster in my Graveyard, only it's ATK and DEF become 0! Come back, D/D Lilith!" The petaled monster began to reform, before taking it's final form.

D/D Lilith  
LEVEL: 4  
DEF: 2100 - 0

"Now watch, as I tune my Level 3 D/D Night Howling with my D/D Lilith!" Howling went to the air, turning into 3 stars, which then turned into 3 green rings. The green rings went around Lamia, 'scanning' the monster. "Howls that tear through the night, with the swiftness of a gale, give birth to a new king!" Lilith then turned into 4 Stars, before a bright light shone through them. "Synchro Summon! Be born! D/D/D Gust King Alexander!" The Armored Synchro monster appeared in a dazziling column of light.

D/D/D Gust King Alexander  
LEVEL: 7  
ATK: 2500

"He just Synchro Summoned!" Kotori cried, staring at the monster in awe.

"This guy doesn't just use Fusions, but he uses Synchros as well? Just what else can this guy do?" Shark wondered.

"Battle!" Reiji declared, pointing at Muzurythym. "D/D/D Rebel King Leonidas! Attack Muzurythym!" Leondias charged at Muzurythym, cutting the monster in half.

 **Yuma LP: 2900**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Now, D/D/D Gust King Alexander, attack Yuma directly!" Alexander rushed at Yuma at the speed of light, slashing the pink-black haired duelist, knocking him back, knocking him to the ground.

 **Yuma LP: 400**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Yuma!" Kotori cried.

"Damn it, he's down to only to 400 Life Points!" Shark gritted his teeth.

"Heh, that's what he gets for thinking that he could measure up to the chairman. Some duelist he turned out to be." Sawatari sneered.

"Turn End." Reiji said. He waited for a while for Yuma to get up, watching his body occasionally twitch. "If you feel like surrendering, I won't blame you." Yuma shifted his body, slowly getting up. "I won't be upset if you give up, just disappointed that you-"

"Don't give me that crap!" Yuma suddenly shouted, as he got back to his feet. "Don't think of me as someone who gives up so easily... I'll never be a person that runs away so easily!" The teen clenched his fists. "No matter what happens, I'll always keep bringing it to 'em!"

Reiji closed his eyes. _"He even talks like him..."_

"It's my turn!" Yuma thrust his hand into the air, and then, it began to glow.

"What the?!" Hokuto said, surprised.

"It can't be!" Kaito realized.

"All the light and power, reside in my right arm and illuminate the path of hope!" Yuma put his hand on his deck, before declaring: "Shining... DRAW!" Yuma drew his card, a trail of light following his drawn card.

Reiji merely narrowed his eyes.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card: **Djinn Orchestra**! If I have a 'Djinn' Xyz monster in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon that Monster, and one Extra 'Djinn' Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck, as long as it's the same Rank as the revived monster! Come back, Muzurythym!" The dark Djinn returned out a Graveyard portal, strumming a few notes.

Muzurythym the String Djinn  
RANK: 3  
ATK: 1500

"And now, I Special Summon from the Extra Deck, Melomelody the Brass Djinn!" A green-haired Djinn arrived, blowing into it's namesake's intrument.

Melomelody the Brass Djinn  
RANK: 3  
ATK: 1400

"And what exactly do you plan on doing with those two monsters?" Reiji asked.

"You're about to see! I'm gonna bring it to you!" Yuma pointed to the sky. "Rank 3 Muzurythym and Melomelody, Overlay!" The two monsters turned green and yellow, before spiraling into the air. A galaxy portal opened up, both monsters going inside. "With these two Xyz monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A bright light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon!" The Number '00' flashed in blue.

"Now appear, Future Numbers 0! Pegasus, be unleashed here and now, and run free as the wind into the future!" A warrior with red, orange, and white armor appeared. The monster spread its wings, grabbing his swords, two yellow Overlay Units circling it. "This is me, Creating Heaven And Earth! Xyz Summon!" Yuma opened his eyes, almost becoming one with the monster. "King of Futures - Utopic Future!"

Number F0: Utopic Future  
RANK: 0  
ATK: 0  
ORU: 2

"A monster without Rank, ATK, or DEF?" Reiji wondered.

"Tch... That annoying thing..." Hokuto seethed, remembering back to the duel from earlier.

"Battle! Utopic Future, Attack D/D/D Gust King Alexander!" The monster brandished its swords, slashing the monster, before it reappeared on Yuma's field.

"What?!"

"That's its effect!" Hokuto called out. "When he attacks, he takes control of your monster! That's what happened with me at least..."

"Really?" Reiji turned back to the duel. "But seeing as he already attacked this Battle Phase..."

"Trap Card, open! Bring it to 'Em Challenge!" Yuma's Trap Card flipped up. "When an Xyz monster attacks this turn, he can attack once again!"

"What?!" Reiji cried.

"Utopic Future, attack once more!" The monster slashed his swords again, and the monster reappeared on Yuma's field.

"Yes!" Shark cheered. "Now he has control of all of Reiji's monsters!"

"And one attack will finish him off!" Kotori said, clasping her hands in joy.

 _"Maybe i shouldn't have doubted him after all..."_ Kaito thought, smiling.

"Go! D/D/D Gust King Alexander, and attack Reiji directly!" Alexander rushed toward Reiji quickly, and raised his sword.

"I don't believe this!"/"That's not right!"/"How can someone like HIM defeat the chairman?!" Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto cried, respectively.

Reiji put on a small smile, unbeknownst to Yuma. Alexander slashed his sword across Reiji's chest, and the scarved duelist clutched his chest, falling to one knee.

"Yahoo!" Yuma jumped in the air. "I actually beat the Leo Corp chairman!" Yuma threw up a peace sign up at his friends, all of which had a smile on his face. "I told you guys not to worry!"

"Are you sure about that?" Reiji said, chuckling a bit.

"What the?!" Yuma watched as his opponent rose back to his feet. Beside Reiji, he saw D/D/D Flame King Temujin"But- I thought- You-!" Yuma looked at his D-Pad, to check Reiji's Life Poins, and saw:

 **Reiji LP: 550**  
 **Hand: 1**

"My facedown Continuous Trap Card, **Contract with the Grim Reaper** , can explain. You see, when you attacked, I paid half my Life Points, and Special Summoned a monster from my Graveyard. As long as this card is on the field, none of us take any damage from battle.

"Damn it..." Yuma cursed. "Just when I thought I had this duel won, too... My turn's over!" At that time, both Leonidas and Alexander went back to Reiji's field.

Reiji let out a chuckle. "Bold and courageous to the end.. You share too many similaries with your father. There's more to you than meets the eyes, Yuma. That much is certain."

"Hey, listen, why do you keep bringing up my father, anyways?" Yuma asked.

Reiji closed his eyes, smiling. "Fine then. If you truly want to know, then I'll tell you."

*Flashback*

 _"AAAAAH!"_ a 10-year old Reiji was knocked back after losing a duel, his cards flying everywhere.

 _"Reiji, that's enough for the day."_ the boy opened his eyes, hearing his mother, Himika, talking to him through the loudspeakers. Reiji exited the Duel Field, seeing his mother looking at him with a stern face.

 _"Reiji, you have lost 15 duels in a row today."_ the woman told him, kneeling down to his level. _"What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?"_

 _"I'm... I'm just not feeling okay today. Maybe I should just stop..."_ Reiji muttered, looking away from his mother.

 _"You shouldn't stop."_ A voice told him. Reiji turned to the source of the voice, seeing a grown man wearing beige expedition clothes, dark raven hair with 2 small spikes of pink, and tan skin walked up to him.

 _"Reiji, this is Kazuma Tsukumo. He's going to be working with your father for the next few days."_ Hikika told the boy, and the taller man knelt down to meet his vision.

 _"I have a son about a few years younger than you. And when he feels like giving up, I just tell him the same thing I'll tell you. Bring it to 'Em."_ Kazuma told the boy, making him perk up.

 _"Bring it to 'Em?"_ Reiji asked, puzzled.

 _"It means to never give up, even if it seems impossible, or that there's no way out. You keep rising to any challenge, and believe in yourself. After all, that's what I keep telling myself every day!"_ the tanned man gave him a smile.

 _"Come. Leo is this way."_ Himika told Kazuma, leading the man in her direction.

 _"Bring it to 'Em..."_ Reiji muttered, as he watched the man walk away.

*End Flashback*

"Ever since then, I've kept your father's words inside of my memory." Reiji said, finishing his story.

"Reiji, what's that boring story got to do with this duel?" Sawatari asked, irritated. "Why are you even dueling that kid anyways? I told you that blonde whippy-dip is the guy who cheated against me!" Reiji glared at him, making him shrink once again.

Yuma smiled. "That sounds like my Dad, all right. I'm glad that you actually got the chance to meet him!"

Reiji smiled back at him. "I've delayed this duel long enough. But before I continue, I must ask you something. Yuma... Who are you, and what do you want?"

"That's easy! I'm a person who always Brings it to 'Em, that's who!" Yuma replied.

"No," Reiji replied, surprising Yuma. "That is merely your father's philosiphy, not your own. And this just illustrates my hypothesis. Yuma..." Reiji pointed directly at the teen. "...You are nothing more than a mere emulation of your father!"

Yuma was taken aback by this statement. "You... You can't just assume that."

"Using your father's quotes, when you more or less are teetering on the brink of despair almost regularly. Hearing those words come out of your mouth disgusts me." Reiji told him.

"But they're my father's words!" Yuma retorted.

"THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO USE THEM AS YOU PLEASE!" Reiji yelled, which surprised everyone. "You're lauded as a hero between 3 dimensions... Collecting the Numbers, Defeating Tron & Faker, fending off the Barians... the only reason that you could do all of those things only was because of your connection to Astral! If he wasn't near your side... you would have been discarded to the wayside, being absolutely useless!"

"Reiji..." Yuma muttered.

"It's my turn! DRAW!" Reiji drew his card, stirring up a gust of wind, which blew off his scarf. "Because of Leonidas' effect, I take no damage from Contract with the Hellgate's or Contract with the Grim Reaper's effect. However, I can still activate Hellgate's second effect! I add one D/D Monster to my hand!" A card jutted from Reiji's deck, adding it to his hand.

"And now, with the Scale 6 D/D Proud Chevalier and the Scale 8 D/D Proud Ogre, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Reiji put both monsters on opposite ends of his duel disk, lighting it up with the word 'PENDULUM' spelled out in rainbow letters. Both of Reiji's Pendulum monsters rose up in pillars of blue light, with the numbers '6' and '8' appearing under them.

"With this, I am able to Summon multiple monsters with Level 7 at the same time!" Reiji declared.

"Wait, what?!" Shark exclaimed.

"He can summon more than one monster?" Kotori realized.

"Grand power that shakes my very soul, arise within me and give birth to a new light that rends the darkness." A portal opened up in the sky. "Pendulum Summon! Come before me, my monster!" A beam came out from the portal, morphing into a knight with armor, weilding a big blade. "The surpreme knight that cuts through everything, D/D/D Kaiser the Conquerer King!"

D/D/D Kaiser the Conquerer King  
LEVEL: 7  
ATK: 2800

"Kaiser's effect activates! When this card is Pendulum Summoned, I can negate the effects of all cards you currently control!" Reiji declared, as Utopic Future was wrapped in binding chains.

"This is bad!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Kaiser's second effect! I can target both my 'Contract' cards, and destroy them!" Both of Reiji's card were destroyed, and then Kaiser began to glow.

"What's going on?!" Yuma asked, in desparation.

"Because I destroyed two cards in my Spell & Trap Zone, my Kaiser gains two extra attacks. And that means..." Reiji pushed his glasses up his face, revealing his piercing eyes. "I can attack you 3 times."

"Oh crap!" Yuma cried.

Reiji pointed at Yuma's monster. "D/D/D Kaiser the Conquerer King, attack Utopic Future- no, attack Yuma!" Kaiser swung his blade a few times, before slashing Utopic Future 3 times, which caused the monster to explode.

"YAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Yuma screamed, as he was knocked back from the force of the attack.

 **Yuma LP: 0**

 **Reiji LP: 550 - WIN**

Reiji's picture appeared, with the word 'WIN' on it, as the Solid AR faded, and Reiji put his scarf back on. The young man walked up to Yuma, who held out his 5 of his medals. "Here. You beat me fair and square. Take them."

"I already have all 20 Medals needed for entry for the tournament. Therefore, I do not require your medals." Reiji walked away from the teen.

"Reiji..." Yuma got back up to his feet. "Wait!"

"Yuma!" Reiji turned back to his opponent. "You need to find your own way of dueling. Until then... you do not derserve to use your father's words!" Reiji, along with the LDS students, walked away from Yuma, leaving the teen with his friends.

* * *

Fan-Made Cards

Djinn Orchestra  
Normal Spell Card  
If you have a 'Djinn' Xyz monster in your graveyard, you can Special Summon it, along with another Djinn Xyz monster from your Extra Deck.

Contract with the Grim Reaper (TCG: Dark Contract with the Reaper)  
Counter Trap CardDuring each of your Standby Phases, you take 3000 damage. If you are attacked directly, target one 'D/D' or 'D/D/D' Monster in your Graveyard, Special Summon it to the field. As long as this card is on the field, neither player takes any damage. During the second Main Phase after you activated this card, destry this card.

* * *

 **Yes! Now that this is finished, I can get to the real plot at last!**

 **Yuma: Doesn't school start this week for you?**

 **Yuya: And aren't you a Senior, which means you'll probably be in loads of work?**

 **...$#*+.**


	11. Relaxation

**HELLO, FANFICTION PEOPLE! Yeah, I'm updating this story, because, you know. Now, I originally wanted to have this chapter feature Yuya vs Droite, but... with the Yuma vs Reiji duel in the last chapter, I decided to nix that because it'd be too similar, and just be an exposition chapter, even if it's disjointed as is. Also, I've kinda been out of practice, so sorry x5 if it's kinda short. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Yahoo!" Yugo jumped into the water, splashing his other brothers.

"Jeez, Yugo, careful! The water's scalding hot, don't you know?!" Yuri chastised.

"Sorry, sorry!" Yugo put his hands behind his head, starting to unwind. "It's just been a long day, and we've got an even bigger day tomorrow!"

Because they had a long day from dueling, the Sakaki boys had been tired, and they decided to unwind in the hot spring.

"But honestly, we deserve to have a break, really. I mean, after that crazy girl chased us right at the beginning of the tournament, and the rest of our duels being nothing but crazyness..." Yuto sighed, reminiscing about the day.

"Yeah, but if I had gotten my newest Trump card out there, that annoying little quiz kid would've been toast!" Yugo argued.

"What about me? That flower girl somehow took control Starve Venom, and humiliated me with my own monster..." Yuri added.

"Well, at least both of your losses weren't thanks to tomatoes..." Yuto said, taking out his sole bronze medal. "And now, the 3 of us are all down to one medal..." The Dragon boys, sans Yuya, all sighed.

"You all should be in higher spirits!" a deep voice called, and the quartet of boys turned to see Shun, and another tan-skinned man clad only in towels.

"Shun! And... um... who's the old guy?" Yuto asked, causing the other man to get a bit miffed.

"Name's Gauche, and trust me, I'm no old guy." He replied, getting into the water. "Man! That water feels really nice! Just what the muscles needed after a long day!"

"...Speaking of which... How did the both of you do today?" Yuri asked.

"Well, we faced a bunch of tough duelists, collected some bronze medals, then near the end of the day, we got nothing but Silver and Gold Medals. So to say, we are officially qualified for the tournament finals." Shun remarked, and the Dragon Boys (again, sans Yuya) put their heads down in embarrassment.

"What's wrong guys?" Gauche asked the boys.

"Well... they kinda lost their duels... and their medals." Yuya said, sweatdropping. "Also, I haven't been able to get any more medals other than the ones I got from my duel with Anna..."

"Well, if you want, Yuzu had been telling me that she had gotten a Gold Medal earlier." Shun remarked.

"Wait, Yuzu got a gold medal?" Yuya asked, surprised, which the Dragon Boys reponded by hanging their heads even lower. But then, the tomato noticed something. "Wait, wasn't Reiji supposed to be with you guys?"

"Well... Reiji... he just went his own way." Gauche replied. "But who knows? Maybe he'll get into the tournament, too!"

"I sure hope so..." Yuya muttered. He looked to his brothers, who still had their heads hung low.

"So, um... Are they gonna be okay?" Gauche asked.

"Yuma!" Kotori called out, opening the door to the where the teen had been cooped up, she saw him laying on the bed, staring at his key. "Yuma, we're going to the Hot Springs, want to join us?"

Yuma turned to the girl, who wore a light green bathrobe, and wore a pink towel around her head. "...Maybe later, Kotori." Yuma shifted his body to the side, facing away from her. "I'm not really up to the mood right now."

"Oh. Okay then..." Kotori closed the door, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Yuma gazed at his key, deeply thinking about Reiji's words.

*Flashback*

 _"Using your father's quotes, when you more or less are teetering on the brink of despair almost regularly. Hearing those words come out of your mouth disgusts me."_

 _"But they're my father's words!"_

 _"THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO USE THEM AS YOU PLEASE!"_

*End Flashback*

 _"All this time, I thought that 'Bringing it to 'Em' had been the best way for me to duel... my Dad kept telling me to face all my challenges with it..."_ Yuma thought. As he thought back to the duel, he gripped his key harder.

*Flashback*

 _"Yuma! You need to find your own way of dueling. Until then... you do not derserve to use your father's words!"_

*End Flashback*

Yuma sat up, and sighed heavily. "Astral... what would you do in this situation...?"

*Meanwhile*

"Ahhh~ That feels really good!" Yuzu said, as she had been taking a dip in the hot springs, and additionally was having her back scrubbed by Rio. "After a long day of dueling, it's nice to unwind, especially after I racked up quite a few wins!"

"It's nice that you're on a winning streak, Yuzu," Rio smiled, but then her face turned serious. "But, I have to ask, who did you duel to get your Gold Medal?"

"Oh... He was this clumsy weird guy, I think his name was..." Yuzu put her finger on her chin in thought. "...Rei Shingetsu, I think?"

Rio's eyes widened. "What?!" The Barian turned to meet her teammate face-to-face. "Did he do anything to you? What did he say to you?"

"Please, calm down! We just dueled, that's all! Although, he did mention something about me being the original.."

 _"The original?"_ Rio thought. The Barian put her hand on the pink-haired girl's shoulder. "Listen to me closely, Yuzu. If you see him again, stay away from him."

"But why?" Yuzu asked.

Rio looked down, narrowing her eyes, remebering what Mizael told her about Vector. She didn't want Yuzu to know the danger she was in just yet, but she decided to say, "Screw it," and come out with the truth.

"Yuzu, Rei-" Rio began, but then, she let out a cry of " _KYAAA~!_ "

"Aha, gotcha!" Anna snickered, pinching Rio in the sides. Rio looked at Anna with a irritated glare.

"Damn you, Anna!" Rio's cheeks began to puff, in anger.

"Hehe... Sorry, but when I'm in the bath, I just can't help but get a little frisky... Speaking of frisk..." Anna began to wriggle her fingers, glaring at Yuzu, before she heard:

"What's going on here?!" The 3 girls turned toward the voice, seeing Droite and Serena at the entranceway.

"You two all shouldn't be messing around like this!" Droite scolded.

Anna bowed in apology. "S-Sorry, you guys!"

Serena then sighed, crossing her arms. "Jeez, you all are on the same team! You should be discussing strategy, not groping each other in the hot spring! Man, not even the boys are as immature as you!"

"Gauche, what the hell is that?!" Shun then yelled, from the other side of the wall, the girls hearing his cry.

"My goodness! It's so big, what are you doing with that?!" Yuri yelled, making some of the girls blush.

"Hahaha! What's wrong? You don't want to see my-"

"NO! Keep that thing away from us!" Yuto yelled.

"Well, it doesn't look so bad.. I'd have that!" Yugo remarked, making the girls blush harder.

"Yugo, how could you... What the hell?!" Yuto screamed. "God damn it, Gauche, get that thing out of Yuya's mouth!"

"How? I can't control it!" Gauche yelled.

"Ugh! What's this stuff's coming out of it? Augh, it got in my mouth!" Yugo yelled, spitting some stuff out. Having enough of hearing this, the girls went over to the boys' side, swung open the door and saw...

...Shun, Yuri and Yuto holding on to Yuya, Yugo washing his mouth out with the bath water, and Gauche trying to pull out an octopus, with one of the tentacles being lodged in Yuya's throat. Speaking of Yuya, the tomato had black residue, presumably ink, on his jaw and chest. They noticed the girls at the entranceway, and the boys looked at the girls, embarrased.

"How... did.." Droite began.

"It is a long story." was the only thing that Gauche could say.

Rio walked back to her room, and when she opened the door, she saw a familiar face sitting on the windowsill.

"Mizael..." Rio muttered.

"We need to talk."

After putting on her clothes, Rio went outside, and was surprised to see Kaito there as well.

"Kaito, what are you-" Rio began, but Kaito cut her off saying, "Mizael brought me up to speed."

"Kaito is a valuble asset to us, and one of the few that can actually stop Vector's plot." Mizael commented.

"But what can we do about Vector?" Rio asked, urgently.

"That's actually what we wanted to tell you. You see..." Mizael whispered his plan in Rio's ear, and she nodded in approval after hearing this plan.

"That actually sounds pretty good." Rio smiled.

"Good. The sooner we stop Vector, the less chaos will go on in the tournament." Mizael remarked, walking away. " _...Or else this have been all for nothing..."_

Rio began to walk away, when she felt a hand around her wrist. The Barian turned around, to see Kaito gently cluching at her wrist. His face was marked with a serious, but gentle, glare.

"Rio," the former hunter began, "Whatever happens, keep protecting Yuzu with your life, okay?"

"Don't worry! Nothing's gonna happen, you heard Mizael, didn't you? His plan is pretty much foolproof, not even Yuma could mess it up!" Rio reassured.

"Even so," he took both the girl's wrists in her hands, leaning in closer, causing Rio to blush intensly. She closed her eyes, expecting something before hearing the words:

"Don't you go dying on me, 'kay?"

Rio opened her eyes, seeing the blond's steel grey eyes, and his lips, possibly for the first time since she met him, turn into a smirk. Rio's blush faded, and she retorted with:

"I could say the same to you."

Kaito chuckled, before returning to his quarters. _"How Shark puts up with that girl, I'll never know."_

"How the hell did he even carry in an octopus in there in the first place?" Serena mumbled, reflecting on the earlier Hot Spring incident. She was about to go to her quarters, but then she passed by Yuzu's quarters, thinking, _"Maybe I should check on her. After all, she actually did manage to get a gold medal, she must be excited from that incentive."_

Serena opened the door, and she immediately regretted it. She saw a boy, about her age, running his finger upon Yuzu's sleeping face.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing with her?!" Serena yelled. The boy noticed her, and glared at her with his purple eyes, his lips turning into a wicked grin.

"I asked you a question! What were you doing with my sister?!" Serena exclaimed, as he ran to the window. He opened a portal, and turned towards the former Academia student.

"Serena, isn't it? I've been watching you." the indigo-haired girl stopped dead in her tracks. "What your doing right now is delaying the inevitable. The original will soon come with me, and her copies will follow." the boy said, and he disappeared through the portal.

Serena kept staring at the point where he had disappeared, thinking to herself, " _Original?_ " Serena walked over to her sister's bed, looking at her bracelet, and then looking at her own. " _Just when we think that we can finally live in peace, somebody has to screw it all up..._ " Serena sighed, as she walked over to Yuzu's bed, holding her hand as she slept.

* * *

 **PLOT! I knew you'd come!**

 **Read and Review, please!**


	12. Yugo vs Kotori

**Hi guys! Wazzup? How about that Presidential Election, huh?**

 **...**

 **I'm terrible.  
But all that matters is that I'm doing something new staring with next chapter! I'm gonna do story story-boarding! Because literally all my stories have been off the top of my head, and this will help me sort everything out! Why am I telling you this? Enjoy the chapter!**

 **PS: I'm wearing a Yuzu/Yugo shirt because... you know.**

* * *

As the crack of day leaked through the window, Yuma's eyes shook from the bright light peering through the window. "Morning already..?" the teen muttered, as his body shifted out of the bed. As Yuma looked around, he noticed a light on his D-Pad. As he turned on the screen, he read: _"One unread Notification."_

As he clicked the message, he saw Astral's face. Immediately, the file played, the alien saying, _**"Greetings, duelists! As the second day of the Conference has begun, I have decided to make the duels a little more exciting!"**_ Astral pulled out a stack of cards. _**"In this Deck, I have many Field Spells. Every person will receive one Field Spell as soon as this video is finished playing. And with this, let the second day of the Astral Dueling Conference... COMMENCE!"**_

As soon as the video stopped playing, a card came out of the card slot of Yuma's D-Pad. He took the card, putting it in his deck box.

 _"Even if I change the location... nothing can erase what happened yesterday."_ Yuma thought, his Action Field Spel slipping out of his fingers.

"Yuma!" a familiar voice called out. The red-eyed boy looked up, to see Kaito, Shark, and Kotori standing in the doorway. "Come on, my training's done! Today we actually can duel people!"

"Yeah come on, Yuma! Weren't you complaining about not having anybody to duel just yesterday?" Shark snarked. Yuma then hopped up from his bed, saying, "Of course! I've been up for hours, trying to perfect my deck!" Yuma then grabbed his cards from the nightstand. "Let's go!"

"Hold it, Yuma!" Kaito told the teen, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're ready? After yesterday, you-"

Yuma took the blond's hand off his shoulder. "I'm fine, really! That Reiji guy only beat me because I was tired, is all! After all, I did do a 3-on-3 duel before him, didn't I? Anyways, we're burning daylight!" Yuma pointed at the direction of the exit, and dashed off.

Kaito and Shark looked at each other with worry, as if they were saying, "He's definitely not okay."

"ALRIGHT!" Yugo cheered, punching his fist in anticipation. "Now, we can finally make up those losses from yesterday! Today, failure is not an option!"

"And plus, with the integration of Action Fields, that can definitely give us an advantage over out opponents." Yuya added.

"You mean, YOU have advantage over your opponents. Some of us aren't exactly experienced in Action Duels, you know." Yuri said, with a slightly snide tone. "Anybody who might be in that tournament just may be more skilled taking the low ground and staying perfectly still." the cabbage explained further, as he took a swig of his tea.

"Who cares?! I'll just circle around them with my Duel Runner if I have to!" Yugo boasted, pointing his thumb at himself.

At that point, Yuto came out of the bathroom, his hair down from being sopping wet, wiping his face with a hand towel. He looked at his brothers, with them looking intently. This continued for quite a while until Yuto said, "It doesn't matter if we win or lose today. All that matters is that we do our best."

The 3 Dragon Boys smiled at his statement, before Yuri shouted, "HURRY UP AND GET DRESSED, WE WANT TO DUEL!"

"You think that my hair stands up like this naturally? I need to take LOADS and LOADS of time and patience to get it just"

"HURRY UP! HURRY UP! HURRY UP!" the younger brothers chanted, much to Yuto's chagrin.

"CHANTING WON'T MAKE ME GO ANY FASTER, IDIOTS!"

 ***beep**beep***

Kotori picked up her D-Pad, checking her notifications. As she checked, she noticed something.

"Hey guys, look at this!" the 3 boys ran over, surrounding the green-haired girl, and read what was on the screen.

 _ **You (4) duelists have been challenged by (Yuya Sakaki), (Yugo Sakaki), (Yuri Sakaki), and (Yuto Sakaki) at the time of (12:30 PM). Do you accept?**_

 _ **Yes / No**_

Kotori clicked the 'Yes' option, and the location flashed on the screen.

The 4 duelists arrived at the location. They were surprised to see 3 boys with the exact same face, the only difference being their clothing, hair, and eye color.

The goggle-headed tomato turned toward the 4, and waved with excitement. "Hey! You guys actually made it!"

Yuma then came to a realization, seeing the same-faced boys. "It's them!" The pink-blue haired duelist said, remembering them as the 'colorful quartet' from yesterday. "Hello! I was wondering when you all would make it! My name is Yuya Sakaki, and here's my brothers, Yuto and Yuri."

"So, why did you challenge us to a duel?" Kaito asked. "By looking at all of your stats, you all appear to be adequate duelists."

"Well, we- well, not me in particular, by brothers, Yuri, Yugo, and Yuto," Yuya began, motioning to his brothers. "Are in desperate need of medals, since they're down to one each."

"Wait.. there's supposed to be four of you, but I only count 3. Where's #4?" Shark asked, before the sound of a Duel Runner engine rang out. Just then, a white Duel Runner jumped out of the trees, shouting, "YAHOO! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! The Legendary Duelist, Yugo Sakaki has arrived to defeat the legendary Yuma-"

 _ **SPLAT!**_

The rider smacked against a tree, his Runner somehow landing on both its wheels, completely intact. "Ouch..." the rider said, cluching his face. His helmet falling off, exposing his yellow-blue hair.

"Yugo! Are you okay?" Yuya asked his older brother, kneeling down to tend to his reddened face.

Yuri just simply poked at Yugo's Duel Runner, in amazement at how it was still intact.

"I told you not to do that extremely over complicated entrance..." Yuto muttered, facepalming.

"Okay, now that we're all here, we can begin the duels!" Yuya pulled a box out of his jacket, putting 4 colored cards (Red/Green, Yellow/Blue, Black/Purple, and Pink/Purple) inside. "These cards will decide who's dueling who." The 4 reached inside of the box, one at a time, and each got their own separate colors.

Yuma got Black/Purple.

Kaito got Red/Green.

Shark got Pink/Purple.

And lastly, Kotori got Yellow/Blue.

"Right! Now that the duels been decided, Me and my brothers will draw cards, and these cards will determine the order of the duels." Yuya explained, putting cards numbered 1-4 into the same drawing box. The 4 put their hands inside of the box, each of them pulling out a different number.

"Dammit! Why did I get first?" Yugo griped, before looking at his brothers' cards. "WHAT THE HELL, YUYA! How'd you get last and not me?!" the banana yelled. He then sighed, and stepped on his Duel Runner again. "So who's my opponent?"

"That would be me." Kotori said, stepping up.

"Hmph. It's actually a good thing you got me as an opponent. Yuya wouldn't take you too seriously, Yuri's gets a bit too into it when dueling, and, well," Yugo whispered the next part to the green-haired girl. "Between you and me, Yuto can't really talk to girls."

"Go get 'em, Kotori!" Yuma cheered, smiling wide.

Kotori tossed her D-Pad and D-Gazer into the air. "Duel Disk, set!" Her D-Pad clicked on her wrist, the card zones extending. "Duel Gazer, set!" The D-Gazer extended, landing on her left eye.

"Let's do this!" Yugo put his Duel Disk on his Runner, and it activated. " **Duel Mode Engaged. Auto Pilot, Standing By.** " the System stated.

" **AR Vision, Link Establshed.** " the Augmented Reality system said, before Yugo thrust his hand into the air, saying, "Action Field, on! Hell River, activate!" The field completely warped into a wild west-type setting, complete with a tumbleweed.

"DUEL!"

 **Yugo LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Kotori LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"I'm going first!" Kotori looked at her hand, before picking out a card. "By banishing one "The Agent" monster from my hand, I can Special Summon my ace monster, Master Hyperion!" The green haired girl slapped the card on the disk, the fire-fairy appering behind her.

Master Hyperion  
ATK: 2700  
LEVEL: 8

"With that, my turn's over!" Kotori declared.

Yugo revved up his Duel Runner, zipping past Kotori. "Now you're about to see what I'm made of!" The banana drew his card. "First, since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon from my hand, Speedroid Terrortop!" A number of spinning tops, the lead one having blades on its side, appeared from a portal, being surrounded by yellow energy.

Speedroid Terrortop  
ATK: 1200  
LEVEL: 3

Yugo zipped past Kotori, nearly running her down in the process. "Hey, watch where you're going with that thing! You could hurt someone, y'know!"

"And due to Terrortop's effect, I can add one add one 'Speedroid' monster from my deck to my hand!" A card jutted out from Yugo's deck, and the Synchro duelist smirked. _"Perfect."_ "Now, I can summon one of my favorite Tuner monsters!"

 _"Wait, Tuner?"_ Kotori realized.

"Come forth, Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice!" Yugo ordered, the monster being a blue pyramid with an ancient Egyptian eye, and surrounded by 3 small orbs.

Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice  
ATK: 300  
LEVEL: 3

"Wait a minute, he uses Tuner monsters?" Kaito wondered. "But the profile said..."

"And now, I tune-!"

"Hold on for a minute!" Kotori interrupted, all the while Yugo pointed his finger to the sky.

"I thought that you used Fusions, not Synchros!"

"WHAT?!" shouted the banana. "Who the hell told you that noise?!"

"That's what it said in your profile, at least..." Kotori whimpered.

Yugo had a MAJOR tic mark on his forehead, and bellowed, "Get this straight: I use Synchros, NEVER Fusions!" The Synchro Duelist revved his Runner, and started riding up a building.

"I told him about that damn showboating..." Yuto muttered, shaking his head.

"Now watch as I tune my Level 3 Tri-Eyed Dice with my Level 3 Terrortop!" Tri-Eyed Dice turned into 3 stars, and those stars turned into 3 green rings, which surrounded Razorang, 'scanning' the monster, which also turned into 3 stars.

"This is the power of..." Yuma breathed.

"Cursed blade in the form of a cross, use your power to rend all of our enemies!" A huge burst of light went through the 3 rings. "Synchro Summon!" The monster took the form of a giant blue sword. "Come forth! Level 6! Hi-Speedroid Kendama!"

Hi-Speedroid Kendama  
ATK: 2200  
LEVEL: 6

Yugo's Runner landed on the ground with a THUD, and pointed at Kotori with a fierce fire in his eyes. "See that? That's the power of Synchros! My turn's done!"

Kotori sweatdropped, before drawing her card. "I summon The Agent of Miracles - Jupiter!" The monster flew out of a portal, being a tan skinned man of Egyptian decent.

The Agent of Miracles - Jupiter  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"Now, Master Hyperion! Attack Hi-Speedroid Kendama!" The large monster charged at the sword, storing a large amount of fire in his hand, and then unleashed it on Yugo's monster.

"Action Spell, activate! Miracle!" The attack bounced off of Yugo via force field. "This card protects my monster, and all battle damage is cut in half!"

 **Yugo LP: 3750**  
 **Hand: 4**

"But when did he even get the time to pick up that card?" Yuya wondered.

Yuri pondered for a bit, before saying, "During his 'Showboating'." Referring to the time he wheeled up the building.

"My turn! Draw!" Yugo drew his card. "Because I control a WIND monster, I can Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg!" A lanky-armed cyborg came out of the portal.

Speedroid Taketomborg  
ATK: 600  
LEVEL: 3

"Now, I'll summon my next Tuner: Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The dice with an Egyptian-designed Eye on its main face appeared from a portal.

Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice  
ATK: 100  
LEVEL: 1

"And due to its effect, I can change the Level of one 'Speedroid' from 1 to 6! I change my Taketomborg to Level 6!"

Speedroid Taketomborg  
LEVEL: 6

"Is he going to do it again?" Yuma wondered, his interest unusually high.

 _"Go for it, Yugo."_ Yuya smiled.

"The fun has only just begun!" Yugo cheered, thrusting his arm into the air, and revving up his Duel Runner. "I tune my Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice with my Level 6 Taketomborg!" Red-Eyed Dice turned into a single star, before turning into a lone green ring, and surrounded Taketomborg, scanning him. "Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down our enemies at speed of light!" A large amount of light went through the rings. "Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" The white-scaled dragon flew next to his master, roaring as he did.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon  
ATK: 2500  
LEVEL: 7

"Now it's time for the battle for begin! Kendama, attack Jupiter!" the sword charged at the fairy, piercing it.

 **Kotori LP: 3600**  
 **Hand: 4**

"And now, my turn's finished!" Yugo stated, pumping his fist.

"My turn!" Kotori drew her card. _"Tch. Not a single magic card... In that case..."_ The green haired girl thrust her hand to the air. "I activate Master Hyperion's effect! By banishing 1 fairy from my graveyard, I can destroy one of your monsters!" The large fire-fairy lunged toward Yugo's dragon.

"Kotori, wait!" Kaito shouted.

"I activate Clear Wing's effect! Once per turn, when a Level 5 or Higher monster activates it's effect, I can destroy it! Dichroic Mirror!" Clear Wing escaped Hyperion's grasp, with it's wings glowing, destroying Kotori's monster.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon  
ATK: 2500 → 5300

"Tch... I'm done." Kotori mumbled.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon  
ATK: 5300 → 2500

Yugo silently drew his card, and then said, "Hi-Speedroid Kendama's effect activates!" Clear Wing's wings then began to glow. "Then, Clear Wing's effect activates! Dichroic Mirror!"

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon  
ATK: 2500 → 4700

"Was... this his plan the whole time?" Kaito whispered to himself.

"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Clear Wing flew up high into the air, as Yugo revved up his engine. "DIRECT ATTACK! Helldive Whirlwind... SLASHER!" Clear Wing spun around a few times, and flew directly at the girl. Kotori was knocked back by the force of the blow, landing on the ground hard.

 **Yugo LP: 3750**

 **Kotori LP: 0 - LOSER**

"Wow... just how much are Synchros capable of?" Yuma said, in amazement as the Action Field dissipated.

Kotori's 3 other teammates rushed to her aid, helping her up. "You just had a bad hand, that's all. Next time, you'll definitely get 'em." Kaito told her, encouraging the girl. Kotori handed her 3 medals to Yugo, and both of them stepped back, before the next challengers went up to each other.

"I've been waiting for this. I wanna see if you're as good as people say you are!" Yuto said, readying his Duel Disk.

Yuma nodded his head in agreement. _"No matter what happened yesterday, I CANNOT let what Reiji said about my fathers words get to me. I have to win this!"_

"DUEL!"

* * *

 **Don't hold me to this, but I will TRY to squeeze out a chapter or two before Thanksgiving. KEY WORD: TRY.**

 **Review, Please!**


	13. Yuma vs Yuto

**Surprise update! Thanksgiving ( & my birthday, which was two days ago) may have passed, but the creative waves haven't! I really got more done in two days, than I did in a whole week. Huh. Maybe because I couldn't get that crazy person that wanted to murder Naruto out of my head.**

 **(Speaking of, I should probably write a story around the new generation one of these days...)**

 **But enough about me being like Togashi, let's get into this shit!  
**

* * *

Yuma and Yuto walked close to each other, with both having a determined look on their faces. Yuto's determined face softened a bit, forming a smile.

"I've heard a lot about you, Yuma." Yuto told the teen. "I've heard about your WDC victory, your journey to the Astral and Barian worlds, and saving the world from Don Thousand. And most importantly, I've heard how you've never given up through it all. I want to see if the stories are true about you. If your "Bring it To 'Em" motto is what it's built up to be."

Yuma smiled, however, this wasn't his usual wide smile, it was a reserved half-smile. "Alright, Yuto, if you want to see a real duel from the one and only, I'd be glad to give it to you!

Both teens went to their respective positions, before Yuma threw his hand into the air, saying, "Action Field, on! Neo Heartland City, activate!" The field around them then turned into Heartland, but a slightly more advanced version.

"Whoa, amazing!" Kaito remarked.

"It looks exactly like Heartland!" Kotori exclaimed.

Yuto readied his duel disk, his purple blade unsheathing from it. "Here I come, Yuma! I'm not holding back, not even for you!"

"Go get 'em, Yuto!" Yuya cheered.

"Keep the streak alive!" Yugo added.

Yuma looked to the ground, deep in thought. _"Ever since that day... I've been trying to figure out what he meant by that..."_

*Flashback*

 _"Using your father's quotes, when you more or less are teetering on the brink of despair almost regularly. Hearing those words come out of your mouth disgusts me."_

*End Flashback*

Yuma's eye started to twitch. _"Even in my dreams, I can still hear his voice, and what he told me..."_

*Flashback*

 _"You need to find your own way of dueling. Until then... you do not deserve to use your father's words!"_

*End Flashback*

Yuma looked up towards Yuto, a newfound sense of determination formed on his face. _"But, no matter what happened yesterday, I CANNOT let what Reiji said about my father and his words get to me. I absolutely have to win this!"_ Yuma tossed his gear into the air, all of it unfolding. "Duel Disk, set!" The red D-Pad landed on the teen's wrist. "D-Gazer, set!" The D-Gazer landed on the boy's face.

 **"SOLID AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED."** the AR System said, scanning Yuto as his opponent.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuma LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **V.S.**

 **Yuto LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"It's my turn!" Yuma drew his card. "I summon Gagaga Gardna from my hand!" the Gagaga monster brandished it's shield, striking a pose.

Gagaga Gardna  
ATK: 1500  
LEVEL: 4

"Next up, because I control a Gagaga Level 4 Monster, I can Special Summon these 3 monsters! Come forth, Kagetokage, Gagaga Clerk, and Gagaga Child!" Each of the monsters struck appeared on the field, Kagetokage lurking in the shadows.

Kagetokage  
DEF: 1500  
LEVEL: 4

Gagaga Clerk  
ATK: 400  
LEVEL: 2

Gagaga Child  
ATK: 800  
LEVEL: 2

"Now it's time for the real show to begin!" Yuma thrust his hand into the air, chanting, "Level 4 Gagaga Gardna and Kagetokage, OVERLAY!" the two monsters turned orange (Gardna) and purple (Kagetokage), spiraling into the air, before a red spiral portal opened up, and both monsters sailed inside. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" a light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Gagaga Cowboy!" A monster wearing western-style clothes, and a cowboy hat, shot two shots into the air.

Gagaga Cowboy  
ATK: 1500  
RANK: 4

"Alright, now I'll just place one card facedown, and my turn's all done! Show me what you can do, Yuto!" Yuma told him, grinning.

"I'd be proud to, Yuma!" Yuto drew his card, flipping it around while saying, "I'll summon The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves!" the Phantom monster appeared on Yuto's field.

The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 3

"Next up, I'll follow it up with one of his close friends! The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots!" a similar monster appeared on Yuto's field.

The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots  
ATK: 200  
LEVEL: 3

"Now, it's time for an Xyz Summon of my own!" Both monsters turned fully purple, swirling into a red spiral portal opened up between them, a bright pillar of light shining from the portal. "Souls of warriors fallen on the battlefield. Rise up, and become the light to rend all darkness!" An armored knight, riding on a black horse appeared on the field, "Xyz Summon! Come forth, The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!"

The Phantom Knights of Break Sword  
ATK: 2000  
RANK: 3  
OVU: 2

"Wow... they both managed an Xyz summon on their first turn!" Yuya breathed.

"Go, Break Sword, and attack Gagaga Cowboy!" the horseman charged at the western, piercing him with his javelin.

 **Yuma LP: 4000 → 3500**  
 **Hand: 0**

"Ngh... Not bad..." Yuma told him.

"I'll set one card facedown. Turn end." Yuto replied, his facedown appearing on his side of the field.

"My turn, Draw!" Yuma drew his card, looking at it with a smile. _"With Gagaga Sister, I can get Utopia out, and destroy his Xyz monster!"_ Yuma was about to play the card, but then remembered: _"Yuto's Facedown Card... if I just move rashly, it could just be a card that could destroy Utopia, or worse, damage my Life Points..."_ Yuma looked at Yuto, a fierce determination in his eyes. _"But still... I have to try, don't I?!"_

"I summon Gagaga Sister in Attack Mode!" the young magician appeared out of the dark portal.

Gagaga Sister  
ATK: 200  
LEVEL: 2

"And because I summoned it, I can do two things with her! First up, I can add one 'Gagaga' Spell or Trap Card to my hand!" A card jutted out from Yuma's deck, adding it to his hand. "Next, I can make two of my monsters the sum of their combined levels! I target Gagaga Child to make both of their levels 4!"

Gagaga Sister  
LEVEL: 4

Gagaga Child  
LEVEL: 4

"Here we go! Level 4 Gagaga Sister and Child, Overlay!" both child magicians turned fully yellow, and spiraled into the air. A galaxy portal opened up, both monsters sailing inside. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" A large light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Number 39! The King of Hope - Utopia!" The number '39' flashed in red, before a sealed monster rose up from dark clouds, the white and gold wings unsheathing. The monster grabbed two swords, before letting out a cry of "HOPE!"

Number 39: Utopia  
ATK: 2500  
RANK: 4  
OVU: 2

"It's Utopia!" Kotori cheered.

 _"But... can he really win with what Yuto has in his deck...?"_ Kaito thought, looking at Shark, who returned an uneasy glare.

"Go, Utopia, and attack Break Sword!" Utopia brandished both his blades, before swinging them down, all while Yuma yelled, "Hope Sword Slash!"

 **Yuto LP: 4000 → 3500**  
 **Hand: 2**

Yuto got up, struggling just a bit, smirking.

"Yes!" Yuma cheered.

"Break Sword's effect activates!"

"What?!"

Two monsters rose from the darkness of the Graveyard, to form Ragged Gloves and Silent Boots.

"But how?!" Yuma stammered.

"When Break Sword is destroyed, I can re-summon both of its Overlay Units, only they Level themselves up by 1!"

The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots  
LEVEL: 4

The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves  
LEVEL: 4

"Damn... My turn's over!" Yuma growled, a bit frustrated. _"But, for some reason, when I attacked him, he didn't activate his facedown... Either he chose not to, or there's something even more behind it..."_

Shark noticed Yuma's frustration, as did Kaito. Shark sighed, muttering, "Yuma, I knew you weren't alright."

"My turn! Draw!" Yuto drew his card, and almost immediately, he chanted, "Level 4 Silent Boots and Ragged Gloves, Overlay!" Both monsters spiraled into the air after turning fully purple, and dived into a galaxy portal. "Fangs formed from the pitch-black darkness, rise up and fight the foolish oppression! Now, rise up! Xyz Summon! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

The dragon, shrouded in darkness, extended its tail and wings, all of which had sharp blades on them, light reflecting off the orbs instilled in its body. The dragon reared its head up, revealing the blade under its large jaw, and let out a mighty roar.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon  
ATK: 2500 3500 (Ragged Gloves Effect)  
RANK: 4  
OVU: 2

"Holy crap!" Kotori cried, surprised at the large monster.

"What the hell... That's his... Ace monster?" Yuma questioned, visibly afraid.

"Dark Rebellion's Effect activates! By removing two Overlay Units, I can target one monster you control, and split its ATK in half!" Yuto explained, to which Yuma widened his eyes at. "Treason Discharge!" Purple electricity shot out of Dark Rebellion's wings, shocking Utopia.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon  
ATK: 2500 → 3750

Number 39: Utopia  
ATK: 2500 → 1250

Yuma, unable to put his frustration into words, once again merely widened his eyes at what this meant.

"Go, Dark Rebellion!" Yuto's dragon charged at Yuma's Golden Knight, the blade under its jaw glowing with energy. "Lightning Rebellion... DISOBEY!" The dragon's blade pierced the knight, and Yuma was knocked back from the recoil of the attack, straight into a building.

 **Yuma LP: 3500 →** **1000**  
 **Hand: 0**

"Damn!" Yuma growled, as he fell to the ground.

"Facedown, The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace, Activate!" the card began to glow, and a monster came out of the card. "By subtracting 600 ATK from one of your monsters, I can Special Summon this Trap Card as a monster!"

Yuma once again widened his eyes, realizing about his facedown. " _Of course... he had that Trap in wait this whole time... And waited to spring it on me..."_

Gagaga Clerk  
ATK: 0

The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace  
LEVEL: 2  
ATK: 600

 _"If I couldn't realize what type of strategy he used in duels, then maybe I'm truly unworthy..."_

 **Yuma LP: 1000 →** **400**  
 **Hand: 0**

"My turn's Over." Yuto told him.

Yuma breathed heavily, and glared at Yuto. Because of the pain he felt, he could barely stand, and started to see Reiji in Yuto's place.

"What the..." Yuma muttered.

 _"You're still unworthy... You can never be worthy of his words..."_ "Reiji" taunted.

"W-Why... Why can't I just be acknowledged for my dueling, just one time?!" Yuma choked, cluching the sides of his head. "This tournament... I wanted to prove that I could still duel, even without the help of Astral! But why..." Tears started to run down his face, which everyone there noticed. "WHY DO I FEEL SO DISGUSTED WITH MYSELF?!"

Everyone just stopped, staring at Yuma. For Kaito, Shark, and especially Kotori, i was unheard of to find Yuma in a state of mind like this.

Yuto and his brothers just stared at the boy, feeling a bit sorry for him.

"*sniff* Dammit... Why the hell am I doing this..." Yuma sniffed, wiping away his tears.

 **"I'll say. I thought that you didn't cry that easily."** A familiar voice told him, as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Yuma noticed that time had stopped around him, and then he turned around, to see...

"...Astral?" Yuma whimpered.

 **"Yo."** Astral greeted. **"Now, what's got you upset?"**

Yuma looked away, not wanting his old friend to see his tears. "It's because of that guy Reiji..."

 **"Ah, yes, I watched that duel."** Astral mused, putting his hand under his chin. **"He's wrong, you know."** Yuma looked at Astral. **"I think that what Reiji said, about you being undeserving about using your father's quote, "Bring it to 'Em", is his way of saying, "You need to improve.", not "Stop being a duelist."** Yuma widened his eyes, coming to a realization.

 **"Reiji Akaba is a duelist who has mastered all methods of summoning. As well as Yuya Sakaki. Yuma, I made this tournament not so that you can duel, but you, and many others, can implement the use of Fusion, Synchro, or maybe even Ritual into your arsenal. These duelist are something you haven't seen before, but Yuma, I definitely know you can master the other summonings."** Astral patted him on the head, smiling. **"Now keep your head up. And make sure you "Bring it to 'Em". 'Kay?**

Yuma wiped away his tears, and greeted his friend with his trademark grin. "You bet, Astral!" Astral smiled, and resumed time.

"H-Hey, are you alright?" Yuto asked, concerned for Yuma.

Yuma got back up, smiling as he usually would. "Heh, Don't you worry about me... I'm completely fine!" He held his fist up to his chest. "I just needed some encouragement from a friend... But now... I'm definitely going to bring it to you!" Yuma flipped back to his feet, before putting his hand on his deck. _"Please... let this be the card that I need."_ Yuma drew his card, his face lighting up as he saw what it was.

"I activate the Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic - Numeron Force!" Yuma said, the card glowing a bright white. "When this card is activated, I can Rank-Up 1 of my Xyz monsters, and Special Summon a Chaos Xyz monster!" Utopia's physical form glowed, and turned into a single spectrum of light, exploding when it hit the sky. "Grasp Victory in the shining future! Our clustering feelings, connected by our hearts, will change the world! Chaos Xyz... CHANGE! King of Hope - Utopia Ray Victory!"

The Number 39 flashed in red, then becoming a murky color. Utopia regained it's physical form, and dull red armor was put over his golden, around his legs, forearms, chest and his helmet retracted to become new, he reached for the sky, grasping his fist, and took a pose.

Number C39: Utopia Ray Victory  
ATK: 2800  
RANK: 5  
OVU: 3

"Awesome..." Shark breathed.

Kaito smiled. "Impressive return to form, Yuma."

"Utopia Ray Victory! Attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Utopia Ray Victory charged at the dragon, lifting its sword. "Utopia Ray Victory's effect activates! By removing an Overlay Unit, and because I have a 'Utopia' monster equipped with him, I can negate one monster's effects, and he gains ATK equal to that of Dark Rebellion's! Victory Charge!" Yuma said, and Victory's body glowed brightly.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon  
ATK: 4750 → 2500 (Effect Negated) → 0

Number C39: Utopia Ray Victory  
ATK: 2800 → 5300  
OVU: 2

"Oh my god!" Yugo shouted.

"This kid came in here, unsure of himself, but here he is, ready to take down Yuto with a amazing monster like that? How interesting..." Yuri spoke to himself.

"Go, Utopia Ray Victory!" The red/gold/white-armored monster grabbed both of his swords, ready to strike. Yuma's right eye turned fully golden, as he called out, "Hope Sword Double Victory Slash!" Yuto immediately ran away, to get away from the debris of the attack. The dragon exploded, knocking the purple-black haired boy down, along with the added bonus of destroying the buildings around the two.

"No way..." Yuya said.

"Yuto...!" Yuri breathed.

 **Yuma LP: 400 - WINNER**

 **Yuto LP: 0**

Yuma stared in disbelief, as the Solid Vision around them faded away. Yuma's right eye turned its usual red again, as he walked up to Yuto.

"Hm. I was expecting a challenge... But not that kind of challenge." Yuto chuckled. Yuto's steely grey eyes met with Yuma's red. "But unfortunately, this is the end of the line for me." Yuto handed Yuma his sole bronze medal. "Here. Take it, you've definitely earned it."

"No." Yuto looked up at his opponent, and saw that Yuma was holding 3 Bronze medals in his hands. "You need these way more than I do." Yuma put the medals in his opponent's hands. "You're amazing at dueling! I definitely wanna duel you again sometime!"

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Astral smiled to himself. **"Observation #22: When depressed and unsure of yourself, only the enlightening words of a friend can save you."** Astral turned around, looking at his associate. **"Wouldn't you agree... Reiji?"**

The grey-haired young man looked at the Astral being. "He still won with only an Xyz monster, though."

 **"True... But you gave him that push that turned the gears of fate."** Astral looked at his friend again. _**"And come the finals, those gears will certainly come full circle."**_

* * *

 **And that's the End... of the 1st Arc! We still have a whole second Arc to go, and this is going involve a bit more Vector, and a tiny bit of fanservice (no, not like THAT), and... can't really say anything else, really. But just slap a review on this chapter if you liked it, and I'll see you real soon.**

 **P.S.: Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, but whatcha gonna do?**


	14. Defiant Mizael

**Happy New Year, everybody! But hold on, Hold on! Yes, I didn't update this for a month and a half, and I'm sorry about that! I just got an External HDD this past holiday, along with exams, and doing this was the last thing on my mind! So, I'm back, and I'll do my best to update this every... 2 weeks or so? Seem fair? Alright, no promises.**

 **LET'S BEGIN THE SECOND ARC!**

 **Arc-V, Zexal belong to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi. If it wasn't, I'd make Zarc have actual motivations other than "The Dragons made me do it."**

* * *

"I'm off!" Yuzu called out, bolting for the cabin door.

"Yuzu, hold on!" The pinkette turned around, to see her older brother, Shun standing behind her. Her older brother had a smile on his face, unusual for him.

"It impresses me how you've advanced in this tournament. I honstly couldn't think that you could get a gold medal this early in the game." Shun put his hand on the pinkette's shoulder. "Keep up the hard work, 'kay?" Shun gave the most uncharacteristically wide grin he had ever given to anyone.

Yuzu, puzzled by her brother's behavior, but at the same time, shocked that he would praise her as highly as he did. As far as she knew, Shun never gave ANY compliments this high, even to Yuto.

Yuzu then smiled, replying, "You got it! I'll be sure to really wow the competition this time around!" She ran out the door, with a fierce sence of determination on her face.

"So, did you do it?" a voice asked, Shun dropping his smile, returning to his usual frown. Turning around, he saw his first sister, Serena, standing in the doorway of the hostel.

"Yes." Shun replied. "I placed a tracking device on her, and hopefully, we can keep tabs on her, and see if she's safe." Shun put his hand on Serena's shoulders now. "Now, are you absolutely sure that you saw someone in Yuzu's room last night?"

"Yes," Serena nodded. "and he said something like:"

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"The original will soon come with me, and her copies will follow."_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"What did he mean by that?" Shun asked, shocked.

"I don't know, to be honest." Serena looked at her bracelet, for a lengthy period of time. The indigo-haired girl looked back up at Shun, with a determined face. "But even so, if our family's in danger, we have to do anything and everything we can do protect them, right?!"

Shun smiled, genuinely this time, saying, "Of course."

* * *

 _ **An Hour and a Half later...**_

The two were trailing Yuzu, but besides quickly finishing some duels, there was absolutely nothing significant happening to this girl! And what's worse, the two trailing her, were starting to get tired of this.

"Maybe we should stop..." Shun stated, slightly frustrated.

"No! We can't stop!" Serena protested. "What if the guy shows up now? She could be kidnapped, or worse, killed, and we wouldn't be able to prevent any of it!"

"Well, what do you want us to do?" Shun asked, trying to talk down Serena. "She's not going to do anything of note, so we-"

"HEY, YUZU!" a high-pitched, upbeat voice called out. Shun and Serena turned toward the source of the voice, and saw a boy in a red tank top, jeans, and blond hair that seemed to stand impossibly high. And while he was running toward Yuzu, he tripped, getting an (accidental) peek up her skirt.

"Who the hell is that slow-witted child?" Shun said, a combination of confusion and bewilderment.

Serena, however, recognized the hair, and body shape. However, the tone of voice that he wielded was different, it was still very much the same person.

"Let's just leave her; she's obviously meeting with a boy she likes, or something. She's obviously not going to do anything of note today, anyways." Shun said, ready to give up.

Serena, not ready to stop tailing her, told Shun that, "You realize that if they ARE boyfriend and girlfriend, you might be an uncle by the age of 18."

Shun widened his eyes, and told her, "He won't get the chance, not if I have anything to say about it!" Serena sighed, mentally facepalming at her brother's over-protectiveness.

* * *

"My turn! Draw!" Yuri said, looking at his hand, before smiling widely. He looked at his opponent, Shark, before saying: "I've enjoyed playing with you, but unfortunately, this is the beginning of the end."

 **Yuri LP: 1600**  
 **Hand: 1**

 **Shark LP: 1000**  
 **Hand: 0**

Yuri's field: 2 Monsters

Predaplant Flytrap  
ATK: 400  
LEVEL: 2

Predaplant Darling Cobra  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 3

Shark's field: 2 Monsters, one facedown

Spear Shark  
ATK: 1600  
LEVEL: 4

Big Jaws  
ATK: 1800  
LEVEL: 3

"What do you mean, this is the end?" Shark asked, a bit nervous.

"This." Yuri turned his card around, revealing:

"Polymerization!" Yuma, Yuya, Kotori, and Kaito breathed simultaneously.

"With this, I can Fusion Summon 1 monster from my Extra Deck!" Darling Cobra and Flytrap swirled into one, and went into a portal.

"Two beautiful flowers with an insect-alluring fragrance! Now unite, and from the hell beneath your petals, give birth to a new beast!" The monster began to take form, having an almost entirely pink body, and blades around its jaw, tail, and orbs all over its body. "Fusion Summon! Come forth, Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs! Starve Venom Fusion Dragon!" The fearsome dragon let out a mighty roar of rage.

Starve Venom Fusion Dragon  
ATK: 2800  
LEVEL: 8

Shark was amazed, and afraid at the sight of the giant fusion dragon. "Amazing..." the Barian king breathed, with a hint of fear in his voice.

"How's that?" Yuri asked, tauntingly. "Are you afraid? Because he won't bite." Yuri's face then twisted into a crazy expression. "He'll only swallow you WHOLE!" the cabbage then bursted into a fit of maniacal laughter.

"That's the power of Fusion...?" Yuma said, also being amazed by the monster.

 _"Yuri... please don't go overboard... Please..."_ Yuya thought, pleading with his older brother.

 _"Don't worry, little bro. This "_ Yuri mentally replied, surprising Yuya. _"It's like you say, this is for entertainment, right?"_ The cabbage mentally giggled. Yuya, still confused, let out a breath of relief.

"The fun has only just begun!" Yuri evilly laughed, in order to play up his 'stage persona'.

 _"Damn... That monster's too powerful... How do I stop it?"_ Shark thought, still slightly afraid.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

The brother/sister duo eventually followed Yuzu and Rei to a dark alley, and they got closer, before the tracked ones stopped.

 _"Tch... These idiots think that they can tail me without me noticing?"_ 'Rei' thought to himself, his bright, cheerful face changing to a dark, disgruntled expression.

"Rei?" Yuzu asked, then Rei's face changed back to it's bright expression. "What's wrong?"

Rei smiled at Yuzu, before he said, "Hey, let's duel, right now!"

"Eh?!" Yuzu said, surprised at his sudden request. "B-But here? Why not someplace where people can see us?"

"I've got a lot of new cards! So, this time, I know I can beat you!" Rei said, readying his D-Gazer and Duel Disk.

Yuzu was still surprised that Rei wanted to duel in a place where nobody could see them, but she wasn't one to back down from a challenge, and wanted to prove that she wasn't just a flash in the pan.

Plus, she wanted a chance at getting possibly Gold Medal.

Yuzu smirked, before readying her duel disk, and inserted her deck into the deck slot. "Alright! Here we-"

Out of nowhere, a energy ball smacked into the ground. The two looked at the direction that it came from, seeing a young man with long blonde hair, and well dressed, as well as flying on a giant dragon. The young man jumped down from the dragon, landing on the ground.

"Who is this guy?" Shun asked, amazed at the person that just arrived.

"Whoever he is, he must not like that "Rei" guy that much, either." Serena replied, not taking his eyes off the young man.

"Tch!" Vector went, his face twisting into anger. _"Damn it!"_ He cursed, mentally. _"Just when I was initiating my plan, he had to show up here?!"_ Vector would then growl, but would do so lowly, so that Yuzu wouldn't notice. He then returned to his kind demeanor, pushing Yuzu away.

"C-Come on, Yuzu, let's get out of here." Rei pleaded, trying to drag Yuzu away. Realizing what was happening, Mizael shot a red energy whip from his wrist, while saying, "You won't get away!"

The red energy wrapped around Rei's wrist, and disappeared. The Barian pulled his wrist, and Rei's followed. "Success." Mizael remarked, smirking. "I won't let you have your way, Vector!"

"Vector...?" Yuzu questioned.

 _"Damn it all! There's no way I can get away now!"_ Vector cursed again. He then smiled stating, "Alright. You wanna play?" Rei readied his Duel Disk, the duel zones extending, and putting his D-Gazer on. "Let's play!"

"DUEL!"

 **Rei LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **VS.**

 **Mizael LP: 4000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"It's my turn!" Rei looked at his hand, before looking back at Yuzu. _"Tch. I shouldn't give myself away so early in the game. But, in order for my plan to come to fruition..."_ Rei pulled two card from his hand.

"With the Scale 1 Satellarknight Zefrathuban and the Scale 7 Satellarknight Zefraxcition, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Rei put his cards onto the opposite ends of his duel disk, and the word 'PENDULUM' lit up on his D-Pad's screen in rainbow letters. His two monsters rose up in two blue columns of light, the numbers '1' and '7' appearing under them.

"Wat the hell?" Shun cried.

"He... Can also use Pendulum?" Serena breathed. _"But... does this mean he's on our side after all?"_

Mizael let out a slight growl.

Rei smiled, saying, "Now, because of this, I can summon any monster I please, as long as they're levels 2-6, of course!" Rei raised his hand to the sky. "Pendulum Summon!" A portal opened up, 3 flashes of yellow coming out of it. "Come help me out, Satellarknights Betelgeuse, Altair, and Alsahm!" The three monsters formed from bodies of light, each wearing shiny armor, and wielding a weapon.

Satellarknight Alsahm  
ATK: 1400  
LEVEL: 4

Satellarknight Altair  
ATK: 1700  
LEVEL: 4

Satellarknight Betelgeuse  
ATK: 700  
LEVEL: 4

"Alsahm's effect activates! " Alsahm drew his bow. "When summoned, I can disperse your Life Points by 1000!" The armored knight fired his bow, and struck through Mizael.

 **Mizael LP: 3000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"And now, I'll overlay my 3 Satellarknight monsters, to Xyz summon my new monster!" The 3 Satellarknight monsters spiraled into the air, and entered a galaxy portal. A light exploded from the portal, before the number '104' flashed in purple. The monster's hand reached out of its sealed form, which had been wrapped in its wings, which emitted sparkles of light.

"Now you heathen, kneel before this light that blinds all!" The monster revealed its linking rings, forming its dark blue wings, and it's eyes glowed a deep purple. "Xyz Summon! Come forth! Number 104: Masquerade!" The monster fully extended its wings, glaring a hole at Mizael.

Number 104: Masquerade  
ATK: 2700  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 3

"My turn's over with!" Rei said, his face slightly smiling.

Yuzu looked at Rei's monster. "Is this really Rei's...?" She then got a sense that, somehow, this monster was more malicious that it appeared to be.

"My turn! Draw!" Mizael drew his card. "Because you control a monster with 2000 or more ATK, I summon my monster, Schwarzschild Limit Dragon!" The dragon appeared out of a bright light, letting out a gigantic roar.

Schwarzschild Limit Dragon  
ATK: 2000  
LEVEL: 8

"He summoned a Level 8 right off of the bat?!" Yuzu cried.

"Next, because you control an Xyz monster, I get to Special Summon Radius, the Half-Moon Dragon!" The dragon formed the shape of a moon with its blades before letting out a large roar.

Radius, the Half-Moon Dragon  
ATK: 1400  
LEVEL: 4

"And because I Special Summoned him, he gets a Level boost of 4, which brings his Level to 8!" Mizael declared.

Radius, the Half-Moon Dragon  
LEVEL: 8

"Now he's got 2 Monsters of the same Level!" Shun realized.

Mizael threw his hand up into the sky. "Level 8 Schwarzchild and Radius, Overlay!" Mizael declared, and his monsters turned yellow and purple, respectively, and spiraled into the air. A large galaxy portal opened, a large light exploding from it as the monsters sailed inside.

The Number '107' flashed in purple, before Mizael outstreched his arms, as an image of the big bang was shown behind him. "Let your ferocious roar be heard though the entire universe. Rise up, and show the power of the galaxies that stretch back to the beginning of time! Now manifest yourself, so that my victory shall be attained!" His Xyz monster's sealed form, in the form of an Onyx-colored pendulum, showed itself. "Xyz Summon! Decend before us, Number 107! Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!" The monster began to extend its tail, along with its wings, both of which were mechanical. Its eyes glowed red with anger, before letting out a mighty roar of rage.

Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon  
ATK: 3000  
RANK: 8  
ORU: 2

"Whoa! They both summoned their most strongest monsters on their first turn..." Yuzu breathed, in complete amazement.

"Yuzu!" a voice called out. The pink-haired girl turned to see who it was, only to see it was Rio running toward her and Rei.

"Rio? What's going on? Who is he?" Yuzu said, pointing at Mizael. Rio took Yuzu's hand, running away from the duel. "What.. What's going on? Tell me! Why did that Mizael guy call Rei 'Vector'?"

Rio turned toward her friend, saying, "I wish I could tell you, but I can't. It's for the best, trust me." As they left the alley, Rio met eyes with Serena and Shun, in a scene that took 1 second, but felt like it took an hour to watch as the girl took their sister away.

Rei looked at the spot where Yuzu once stood, not moving for what seemed like years. "Well then... time to drop the 'Think of the Best' bullshit..." Rei, no, Vector turned toward Mizael with his usual arrogant look in his eye. "What the hell do you want, Miza?"

Shun and Serena gasped in unison. "I knew it! That damned boy was the untrustworthy one!" Shun growled.

Mizael growled, staring a hole into Vector. "I know your plan, got it? I've busted your secret vault wide open!"

Vector chuckled, which turned into a slight laugh. "You had an entire day to stop me, so what the hell could you possibly know about my so-called 'secret vault', honestly?"

Mizael smirked. "The New World plan, wasn't it?"

Vector's smile dropped, letting out a low growl, and staring a hole at Mizael. "You bastard! How the hell could you have possibly have known about that?!"

"New World?" Shun said, in thought.

 _"What is this 'plan'? And why exactly does he need Yuzu for it?"_ Serena looked her bracelet again. _"And, where do the rest of us fit into this puzzle?"_

Vector stopped his growling, but he then smiled, evilly. "No matter, even if you know what my plan is, there's no chance in hell that you'll ever stop me."

"Wanna bet?!" Mizael smirked. "Battle Phase! Now, Galaxy Eyes' effect activates! During the Battle Phase, I can negate the effects of all monsters on the field! Tachyon Transmigration!"

Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon  
ORU: 1

The monster's jewel glowed, and the glow was about to hit Masquerade, but...

"Naive as ever, Miza. Masquerade's effect activates! During the Battle Phase, by detaching one Overlay Unit, I negate the activation of the effect, and you take 800 points of damage!" Vector declared, as the blonde Barian widened his eyes in shock.

Number 104: Masquerade  
ORU: 2

 **Mizael LP: 2200**  
 **Hand: 3**

"Arrgh!" Mizael cried, feeling his Life Points slip away. "But... My Tachyon Dragon still has more ATK than your monster! Tachyon Dragon, attacks Masquerade! Ahnailation Tachyon Stream!" Mizael cried out, the monster being vaporized.

 **Vector LP: 3700**  
 **Hand: 0**

As Vector watched as his monster was destroyed, he wasn't phased. "Turn End!" Mizael breathed heavily, feeling the effects of the Duel Anchor weighing down on him.

"Miza, you're looking pale! Looks like you won't be able to stop my 'big, evil, secret plan' after all, will you? How about you just give up?" Vector taunted.

Mizael put on a defiant face. "Never! I might fall here, or anywhere else, but there are other heroes, and those heroes will be able to strike you down!

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

(A/N: It's a few turns later, can I not do that? Whatever.)

"My turn! Draw!" Shark drew his card, smiling. He pulled a card from his hand, and "I activate the Spell Card, Rank Up Magic - The Seventh One!" Shark declared, Number 101 rising from the ground. "I can Special Summon one Over-Hundred Number from my Extra Deck, as long as I Xyz Summon a Chaos Over-Hundred Number of the same number!" The monster sunk back into the Overlay Network, and exploded.

"Guardian of souls that have yet to mature, become the dark knight and crush the light! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Chaos Number 101! Silent Honor DARK!" The monster's armor turned black, and the ARK turned into a large, Humanlike figure, before it brandished it's trident.

Number C101: Slient Honor DARK  
ATK: 2800  
RANK: 5  
ORU: 1

Yuri looked at Shark's monster, chuckling lowly. "Nice strategy, but all for naught, I'm afraid. Stave Venom's effect activates! I can target a Level 5 monster, and take its effect for my own!" Starve Venom's wings extended, but when they reached Number C101, the monster was largely unfazed.

"W-What?" Yuri said, surprised. "What trick is this?!"

"It's no trick. You seem to have forget that Xyz monsters DON'T have levels, but ranks instead. Therefore, Stave Venom's effect is negated."

Yuri's eyes widened, both in shock, and confusion. "B-But, if it doesn't have Levels, doesn't that mean that its Level is 0?"

Shark stared at Yuri with half-lidded eyes. "Silent Honor DARK's effect activates! When you have a Special Summoned monster, and I control Number C101, I can take that monster to use as an Overlay Unit! Dark Soul Robber!" As he was saying this, Starve Venom was encased in a Chaos Overlay Unit, and reappeared beside Number C101.

Number C101: Silent Honor DARK  
ORU: 2

"No way!" Yuto cried.

"Awesome! Excellent strategy, Shark!" Yuma cheered.

"Attack directly, Chaos Number 101! Return from Limbo!" DARK swung its trident, and appeared to imaple the cabbage, but merely his cape was damaged. Trying to play up the injury, Yuri stumbled around, before fainting.

 **Shark LP: 200**

 **Yuri LP: 0**

"Yuri!" Yuya cried out, running over to his older brother's side. The tomato cradled his brother's head in his elbow, him not moving. "Speak to me!"

Yuri slowly opened his eyes, saying, "Yuya, thank you... from saving me from the darkness... *bleh*" Yuri stuck his toungue out, to symbolize that he was 'dead'.

"YURI!" Yuya shouted to the heavens, in an over-the-top manner.

Yuri then felt a hard stomp on his face, from Yugo's boot. "You idiot! Who the hell do you think you are?! Leave the acting to Yuya!" Yuri held his now-aching face, as his elder brother chewed him out.

Yuya walked toward his opponent, Kaito, looking into his eyes. "The score is 2-1, Yuya. Do you really think that you can aavenge your brothers' losses?" The blond asked.

Yuya smiled, readying his duel disk. "You bet!" The orange blade unsheathed from the disk.

"DUEL!"

* * *

 **Back to the plot...**

Mizael went down to the ground on one knee, clutching his chest, breathing heavily, and sweating incessantly.

"Miza... You can join me, you know. The three of us, we can be something of legends. You, the loyal knight, Yuzu, the prophet, and me... The God of the New World." Vector walked over to his fellow Barian, offering his hand. "Come. You don't have to die here."

"No way!" a voice called out, and Vector looked to see two cloaked figures in the alley, a boy and a girl. They took off their cloaks, reaveling them to be Shun and Serena.

"You!" Mizael breathed.

 _"Yuzu?! No... The hair and eyes are different... In that case, it must be her sister? Either way..."_ Vector thought.

Mizael struggled to get up, and walked over the indigo-haired girl. "You shouldn't have come here! Leave, now!"

"No way!" Serena protested. "This creep wants my sister for something, and he won't succeed!"

Shun readied his duel disk, as did Serena. "You bastard... How the hell do you expect Yuzu to go along with your 'plan'?"

Vector sneered. "She obviously trusted me enough to follow me here, didn't she?"

"Grr..."

"You two, stop! This isn't your battle! Just leave!" Mizael protested.

"Shut up! It involves our family, so it involves us!" Serena spat back.

 **"Intrusion Penalty: 2000 Life Points."** The Duel System said, and sent a shock through both Shun and Serena's bodies.

 **Serena LP: 2000**  
 **Hand: 5**

 **Shun LP: 2000**  
 **Hand: 5**

"Hm. Even if there's 3 or 3,000 of you, you still won't defeat me! And if I recall, it's still my turn!" Vector drew his card. "Because there are 3 monsters with the same level and attribute, I Special Summon Dark Tuner Umbral Horror Martyr!" The monster came out of a dark portal, surrounded by darkness, taking the form of a young woman, her long grey hair obscuring her face, and her pure white clothes tattered and bloody.

 **Dark Tuner Umbral Horror Martyr**  
 **ATK: 0**  
 **Level: 11**

"What the?! That thing has a Level of 11, but no ATK?" Shun said, in disbelief.

"Not only that, it's a Dark Tuner as well!" Serena added.

"Martyr's effect activates! When this card is summoned, I can revive one monster from my graveyard! Come back, Satellarknight Betelgeuse!" The armored knight returned to the field.

Satellarknight Betelgeuse  
ATK: 700  
LEVEL: 4

"Again with that thing?" Serena wondered.

"Now, I can make the fun truly begin." Vector told himself, lowly. The Barian thrust his hand to the sky. "I tune my Level 11 Martyr with my Level 4 Betelgeuse!" Martyr then turned into 11 Dark Stars.

"With monsters like those, is he actually going to Synchro?" Serena asked, no one in particular.

"No..." Mizael replied. "It's something much worse..."

Vector's body was covered in a dark aura. He clenched his fist toward his chest. "Where all hope remains, the beast will show up to destroy all that is left!" The monster's stars pierced Betelgeuse, making the monster cry out in pain. "And from the ashes, we rebuild anew!" The 11 stars turned into 7, which then started to spin faster and faster.

"This... This can't be!" Shun cried, stepping back slightly.

"DARK SYNCHRO! Come forth, my faithful beast! Umbral Terror Chupacabra!" The monster came from the 7 stars. Jumping out of the sky, the 8-foot monster stood on its two hind legs, tongue hanging out of its mouth, blood dripping from its gaping maw, and eyes glowing a fearful red. The monster let out a giant screech, their opponents cover their ears in pain.

 **Umbral Terror Chupacabra**  
 **ATK: 2500**  
 **Level: -7**

* * *

 **Author made Cards:**

 **Umbral Horror Martyr  
Level: 11  
ATK: 0/DEF: 0  
Fiend/Dark Tuner/Effect  
Effect: If you have 3 monsters of the same Attribute and Level in your Graveyard, Special Summon this card. When this effect resolves, Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from your Graveyard  
**

 **Umbral Terror Chupacabra  
Level: -7  
ATK: 2500/DEF: 1000  
Fiend/Dark Synchro/Effect**

 **Effect: To be revealed in the next chapter.**

* * *

 **And there you go! I didn't want to focus too much on the Yuri/Shark duel too much, because I wanted to get to the plot even quicker. I've left you waiting long enough. Alright, see you in approx. 2 Weeks!**

 **Oh yeah, we got a new president. Yay... (sarcasm)**


	15. 3-Way Gridlock!

**Hey guys, It's me, It's me. Been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I'm here with another chapter, and... I didn't really like how this one turned out. Maybe... well, I'll explain later. For now, enjoy!**

Rio kept running, dragging the pinkette along with her, to try their best to get away from the maniacal Barian.

"Rio! *pant* Where are you taking me?!" Yuzu asked, all she received in response was silence. Before that, she saw something unusual in her midst.

" _A circus tent?"_ the female Barian Emperor mentally questioned, before putting on a determined face. _"As long as we can get away from Vector, it-"_

"RIO!" the Ice duelist then turned around, to see Yuzu panting, and having a quite a frustrated look on her face. "What is going on? Why did you drag me away from Rei? And who the heck was that guy on the dragon?" the pinkette questioned.

Rio looked on the ground, in silence, a long while, before starting up with, "Listen… Vect-... Rei… isn't exactly who you think that he is."

Yuzu tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean? I mean, yeah, Rei's loud, annoying, clumsy, and sort of perverted, but he's a really amazing duelist!" Rio grabbed her by the shoulders, shocking the Melodious duelist.

"Yuzu, listen to me. Did at any time during your duel, did he draw a card to summon a Chaos Xyz monster? Like, a Rank-Up-Magic?"

Yuzu cupped her chin, deep in thought. "Well, he did draw this one card during the duel, but he didn't really do anything with with it, really." Yuzu then remembered something. "But after he drew it, he acted extremely weird."

"Yuzu, listen to me. You NEED to stay away from Rei. Permanently. Don't talk to him, don't duel him, don't even think about him. Just steer clear of him at all costs."

"But why?" Yuzu asked, before getting Rio's hands off her shoulders. "Rio, if there's something that you wanna tell me, do it now."

Rio back up slowly, before slowly taking in a breath. "Yuzu, I know that you probably won't believe me when I tell you this, but it's something that you need to hear. Because once I tell you this, you HAVE to make it a top priority to stay away from him." Rio told the pinkette, as she nodded. "*sigh* Okay, here goes. Yuzu, Rei is-"

"My turn!" a voice called, from behind the tent's curtain. And the voice seemed all too familiar to Yuzu.

"Wait a moment… that's Yuya's voice!" Yuzu ran inside the tent, to see Yuya in an intense duel with Kaito.

 **Yuya LP: 2500**

 **Hand: 2**

 **V.S.**

 **Kaito LP: 3000**

 **Hand: 0**

Yuya's field: Performapal Drummerilla, Performapal Kaleidoscorp, 2 facedowns

Kaito's field: Photon Crusher, Twin Photon Lizard, 1 facedown

Performapal Drummerilla

ATK: 1600

LEVEL: 5

Performapal Kaleidoscorp

DEF: 2300

LEVEL: 6

Photon Crusher

ATK: 2000

LEVEL: 4

Twin Photon Lizard

ATK: 2400

LEVEL: 6

"Time for battle! Drummerilla, attack Twin Photon Lizard!" Yuya commanded, as the monster charged toward the giant serpent.

"Huh? Doesn't Drummerilla have less Attack points than Twin Photon Lizard, so the attack should destroy Yuya's monster, then?" Kotori asked.

"Drummerilla's effect activates! When he attacks, he gains 600 Attack Points!" Yuya declared, as the orangutan beat its chest-drums.

Performapal Drummerilla

ATK: 1600 2200

"Even then, Twin Photon Lizard still has the higher Attack Points!" Kaito informed the Entertainment Duelist.

"Oh, I know! That's why I've got the Action Spell card, Attack Force!" Yuya declared, as Drummerilla attacked the serpent. "During the Damage calculation, Drummerilla gains 600 more Attack Points!"

Performapal Drummerilla

ATK: 2200 2800

"Dammit!" Kaito cursed, as he saw his monster dissipate into nothingness.

 **Kaito LP: 3000 2600**

 **Hand: 0**

"My turn's over!" Yuya declared. As the tomato looked around, he would see a familiar face. He smiled widely, before shouting, "Yuzu!" The pinkette responded by waving at her friend.

"Hi, Yuya! Did I miss anything?" Yuzu asked.

"No way! You came just at the right moment! The fun has only just begun!" Yuya declared, it which Kaito merely laughed.

"You're right, it has begun. For ME, that is!" Kaito put his hands on his deck, declaring, "It's my turn! Draw!" Kaito smirked, saying, "Now the pieces are in place. Spell Card, Galaxy Zero, activate!" the Spell Card flipped up, and glowed, as Kaito went on to say, "When I have a "Photon" or "Galaxy" monster in my graveyard, I can Special Summon it once more! Return, Twin Photon Lizard!" The serpent returned to the field, and let out a roar.

Twin Photon Lizard

ATK: 2400

LEVEL: 6

"That thing's back again?" Yuzu wondered.

"Yeah, but it won't be able to do anything, though." Shark began.

Yuzu turned toward the Barian, asking, "What do you mean by that?"

"Galaxy Zero has an unfortunate drawback." Yuma interjected. "Yeah, it can get a monster out of the graveyard, but it can't attack or use its effects. So only then, there's one thing that he can do."

Kaito smirked. "I'll tribute these two monsters to Special Summon a more powerful monster!" The two monsters dissolved, and turned into a crest, as the blonde hunter grabbed it, throwing into the air.

"What's this?" Yuzu wondered, in shock.

Kaito clenched up his fist, chanting, "Radiant galaxy, shining in the darkness," The airborne crest started to spin rapidly, as stars emitted from it. "Become the light of hope, and my loyal servant!" The crest began to shine, as Kaito opened his eyes, saying, "The Embodiment of Light, Descend now! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" The Dragon took its true form, and with the power of the Galaxy shown in its eye, it let out a mighty roar.

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon

ATK: 3000

LEVEL: 8

Yuya looked at the Galactic Dragon with shock and awe. "Wow… Amazing!" the tomato breathed.

"Yuya…" Yuzu breathed, worried for her friend. She then felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She turned her head, seeing Rio giving her a reassuring smile.

" _At least, this'll distract Yuzu to the point where Vector'll probably forget about her… But still, Mizael could lose, and he could come here, but that most likely won't happen… Will it?"_

Meanwhile...

 **Vector LP: 3700**

 **Hand: 0**

 **Umbral Terror Chupacabra**

 **ATK: 2500**

 **LEVEL: -7**

VS.

 **Mizael LP: 2200**

 **Hand: 3**

Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon

ATK: 3000

RANK: 8

ORU: 2

 **Serena LP: 2000**

 **Hand: 5**

 **Shun LP: 2000**

 **Hand: 5**

"What the heck is that? It looked like a Synchro Summon, but it feels… unnatural, somehow." Serena asked.

"It's a summoning method known as Dark Synchro." Mizael grunted, struggling to get up to his feet. "It's been said, that a long time ago, many people known as 'Dark Signers' battled the Signers, and one of the methods they used was known as Dark Synchro. This method was known to be so dangerous, that they kept it hidden, never to be used ever again." the dragon tamer explained.

Vector, all the while stood there with a bored expression on his face, before saying, "You done with the history lesson yet, Miza? Because this brand-new monster's got a DREADFUL effect!" the beastly monster opened its mouth once again, showing off its bloody fangs. "Once per turn, I can banish one of opponent's monsters, and all it costs me is a low, low price of 200 Life Points!"

 **Vector LP: 3700 3500**

 **Hand: 0**

The beast opened its mouth, grabbing Tachyon Dragon, and was about to start feasting on the Dragon.

"Trap Card, activate! Tachyon Transmigration!" Mizael suddenly declared.

"Trap Card?" Shun wondered.

"But he has no facedowns! How can he possibly have a Trap Card ready?" Serena wondered.

"This card can only be activated from my hand when I have a Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon on the field. And now, I negate your effect, and send your monster straight back to the deck. Or in this case… the Extra Deck." Mizael smirked, as the monstrous beast disappeared.

"He'll be back…" Vector chuckled, under his breath. "My turn's over!"

"We won't let that happen!" Serena exclaimed, before declaring, "My turn! Draw! I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization, to fuse my Lunalight Purple Butterfly and Crimson Fox!" The two monsters swirled into a portal, merging into one. "Butterfly that shimmers with violet poison! Fox that illustrates the Earth's cycle! Spiral into the moon's gravity, and become even stronger!" The indigo-haired girl clasped her hands together, shouting, "FUSION SUMMON! Come forth, Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight! Lunalight Cat Dancer!"

The monster kicked the air, dancing to the beat of castanets, while she was dressed in elegant black-and-blue robes, while her face was covered with a mask, like the other Lunalights, and she struck a pose, while the moon appeared behind her.

 **Lunalight Cat Dancer**

 **ATK: 2400**

 **LEVEL: 7**

"Go, Cat Dancer! Attack Vector directly! Full Moon Crest!" The humane feline attacked the Barian with her staff, making Vector growl lowly.

 **Vector LP: 3500 1100**

 **Hand: 0**

"Cat Dancer's effect activates! When it attacks, it can inflict 100 point of damage to my opponent!" Serena declared, as the human-like feline scratched Vector across the face.

 **Vector LP: 1100 1000**

 **Hand: 0**

"Turn end! Shun, hurry up, and defeat this guy, why don't you?" Serena asked, with her big brother smirking.

"Hmpf. Of course. It's my turn! Draw!" Shun drew his card. "I summon Raidraptor - Napalm Dragonius!" The mechanical dragon came out of a summoning portal, breathing fire as it did.

Raidraptor - Napalm Dragonius

ATK: 1000

LEVEL: 4

"And now, Napalm Dragonius' effect activates! Once per turn, I can inflict 600 points of damage onto my opponent's life points!" Shun explained, as Vector screeched at the feeling of having scorching hot fire being breathed onto him.

 **Vector LP: 1000 400**

 **Hand: 0**

"Napalm Dragonius also has another effect!" Shun exclaimed, as a card jutted out from his deck. "Napalm Dragonius allows me to summon another monster from my deck, but the only drawback is that I can't use its effects. However, I don't need it, because I Special Summon Napalm Dragonius!" The fire-breathing mecha-bird took the field, along with its doppelganger.

Raidraptor - Napalm Dragonius

ATK: 1000

LEVEL: 4

"Now, I activate the Spell Card, Tannhauser Gate! This allows me to take two monsters of the same type, and make both their levels the combined levels of both monsters!" Shun explained.

Raidraptor - Napalm Dragonius x2

LEVEL: 8

"Alright! Now he has two Level 8 monsters!" Serena stated.

"I overlay both Napalm Dragonius' to build the Overlay Network!" Both falcons turned fully purple, before spiraling into the sky, before coming back down, to sail into a galaxy portal in the ground.

"Fearless falcon, who strikes fear in the heart of man! Hoist up the flame of anger, and become the light that turns the land to ashes!" A bright light shone from the portal. "Xyz Summon! Soar through the skies, Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon!" The Falcon's wings spread, shimmering purple light off of it as it readied its cannons for battle.

Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon

ATK: 3000

RANK: 8

ORU: 2

Mizael looked up at the two, in complete shock and awe. _"Unbelieveable! These two are actually going to defeat Vector without breaking a sweat, where I could barely even lay a finger on him!"_

"Now, go, Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon! Attack Vector directly!" Shun commanded, pointing index and middle fingers in a 'gun' like fashion. "Eternal Avenge!" The falcon began to charge its cannons, pointing directly at Vector, who, after a moment of hesitation, accepted his fate.

Until….

"Chupacabra's effect activates!"

"What?!" His three opponents cried out.

The hungry beast rose up out of the portal, and grabbed Cat Dancer, Satellite Cannon Falcon, and Galaxy-Eyes.

"Wha? But how?" Mizael breathed.

"Impossible!" Shun cried out.

"When forced to leave the field by card effects or by battle, Umbral Horror Chupacabra can be activated from the graveyard, or extra deck, and destroy any Special Summoned monsters that my opponents possess." Vector explained, closing his eyes. When they opened again, they had a darkness surrounding them, before saying, "And for each monster destroyed, you take the same amount of damage!"

This shocked all three of his opponents.

"But that means… All of our Life Points…" Serena realized, before her Bracelet started to glow.

"What in the?" Serena said, not knowing why her Bracelet was acting this way.

Vector took notice of this, however, and realized something. That his hopes and dreams weren't completely dashed after all.

"Sorry, but I must leave now! Farewell!" Vector said, splitting into 3, and each of him going off in a different direction. Shun tried to stop him, but he was already gone before he could catch him.

"Dammit! He got away!" Shun growled.

"But where to?" Serena asked.

"He's looking for your sister." Mizael told them, before letting them know about what Vector was planning. When he finished, they were both in shock.

"T-That's crazy!" Serena said.

"Does anybody else know about this?" Shun asked, to which Mizael shook his head.

"Only 2 friends of mine know about it. Please, I'm begging you, stop him!" Mizael pleaded. "He's more insane now than he was before! And if he does what he plans to… Then he could send the entire world into chaos!"

Shun put a hand on the Barian's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll stop him. We'll make sure of it." Serena nodded in agreement.

Mizael smiled, warmly. "Thank you."

 **Around the same time as the Vector duel…**

 **Kaito LP: 2600**

 **Hand: 0**

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon

ATK: 3000

LEVEL: 8

Photon Token x2

DEF: 0

 **Yuya LP: 100**

 **Hand: 1**

Pendulum Scales:

Left Scale: Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix (3)

Right Scale: Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn (8)

"What's wrong? Surely you have more fight than that, right?" Kaito goaded.

"Man, this is bad! Yuya's only got 100 Life points left, and a single card in his hand!" Yugo said.

"Yuya…" Yuzu breathed.

"Okay… I see. Guess I need to call _him_ one more time…" Yuya resolved. The tomato then when to the very top of the tent, as the lights went out.

"What's this?" Yuma asked.

"Did the lights just blow out, or something?" Yugo asked.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" A voice suddenly called out. The spotlight suddenly pointed to Yuya, who had his hand to his heart. "As you can see, I only have on mere card. But hopefully, I can turn his duel around, with this 'Destiny Draw'!" Yuya slowly opened his eyes, showing them to be a bright golden now. "It's my… TURN!" Yuya drew his card, as the silhouette of another showed up behind him.

"What was that?" Yuma asked to himself, as his left eye turned golden, briefly. He also noticed that Yuzu's bracelet had begun to glow.

"I activate the Ritual Spell Card, Odd-Eyes Advent!" Yuya declared, as he shocked everyone around him.

"Ritual?!" Yuto gasped.

"But he has no monsters on the field!" Yuri exclaimed.

"When my opponent controls 2 or more monsters than me, I can send 1 Odd-Eyes monster from my Extra deck to the Graveyard." Yuya explained, sending a monster to the Graveyard. Below Yuya's feet, a shrine appeared.

"Dragon that rules over all of space and time. Rise up from the dead, and take your rightful place as the one who reigns supreme!" The shrine opened, as Yuya called out, "RITUAL SUMMON!" The dragon appeared, with a strong, blinding light, and let out a mighty roar. "Fight at my side, Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!"

Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon

ATK: 2800

LEVEL: 7

"Where did Yuya get _that_ card?" Yugo asked.

Yuri merely chuckled, cupping his chin. _"So he actually decided to use_ his _power, hmm?"_

"And…" Yuya's golden eyes looked around, quickly. He saw what he needed in the corner of his eye, running towards it. "I play…" He grabbed the thing he was looking for, an Action Card. "...The Action Spell Card, Double Attack!" The Ritual Dragon then gained an aura. "During the Battle Phase, my Gravity Dragon gets double the power!"

Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon

ATK: 2800 5600

"Impossible!" Kaito realized.

"ALRIGHT!" Yugo shouted.

"Yuya's monster is stronger than Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes!" Yuzu said, happily.

"Amazing…" Rio breathed.

"Do it, Yuya." Yuto said, smiling.

"Go, Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!" The dragon began to charge its power in its mouth. "Attack Kaito's Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon! Pressure Burst!" The Dragon fired a deep red blast at the opponent, obliterating the dragon, and sending Kaito flying.

 **Kaito LP: 0**

 **Yuya LP: 100 - WIN**

Yuya's picture appeared, with the word 'WIN' on it, as the Action Field faded around them, and Yuya's eyes turned from gold to red once again.

"That was awesome, Yuya!" Yugo shouted, nearly tackling Yuya.

"Truly entertaining, I must say." Yuri added, praising his little brother.

Just then Yuto got a call on his Duel Disk. "Hello?"

"You were amazing, Yuya!" Yuzu complemented, before she pulled out her Gold Medal. "But are you amazing enough for this?"

"Yeah, of course!" Yuya said, getting his duel disk ready. Yuto put his hand on his shoulder, whispering something to the tomato. "Actually, Yuzu, I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that. Something… important just came up. Later!" He said, as the Sakaki brothers ran off, Yugo speeding off on his Duel Runner.

Rio put her hand on Yuzu's shoulder, saying, "Don't be bummed out, Yuzu. Besides, we can still have a little fun here. Isn't that right, Ryoga?"

Shark just chuckled, remarking, "Guess there was no way to get around it." His eye then turned red.

"Alright!" Yuma threw his Duel Gear into the air, landing on his right eye, and wrist, respectively. "I'm really gonna bring it to you, right now!"

"Do your best, Yuma!" Kotori cheered.

"DUEL!"

Fan-Made Cards

Umbral Terror Chupacabra

Dark Synchro/Fiend/Effect

Level -7

ATK: 2500/DEF: 1000

Effect: 1 "Umbral Horror" Monster 1 Dark Tuner Monster

This card can only be summoned by Dark Synchro and not by any other ways. One per turn, by paying 200 Life Points, you can banish one of your opponent's monsters. If this monster was destroyed or taken off the field by a card effect, once, during either players turn, destroy as many Special Summoned monsters on your opponent's field as possible, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK. This effect can be activated when this monster is sent to the Graveyard, Extra Deck, or Banished Zone. You can only activate this effect Once Per Duel.

 **And there you go. In the end, I just ended up rushing this chapter, since the original draft I had in WordPad was deleted for some inane reason, and I had to redo this entire chapter over again. But also, I was so hung up on how Arc-V ended, I kinda lost motivation to work on this story for a time. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna finish it, I have the ending and everything planned in my head, but... I just don't know, with VRAINS coming out in 4 days, and everybody hyping that up to be THE BEST YGO EVAR, I just can't get excited about it. Sooo... That's all I have to say. Just know that updates on this and "Angel and Devil" may be sporadic, depending on how VRAINS goes.**

 **See you later. ~A**


	16. A Grand Problem

**I'm baaaack...**

* * *

"DUEL!"

 **Yuma/Shark LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

 **Rio/Yuzu LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

"I'm going first!" Yuma declared. "I summon Goblindbergh!" A goblin, wearing a pilot's coat and goggles, zipped by in an airplane, carrying a crate.

Goblindbergh  
ATK: 1400  
LEVEL: 4

"Now, Goblindbergh's effect activates! When he is summoned to the field, I can summon another monster to the field, as long as it's Level 4 or lower!" The crate lowered, revealing Gogogo Giant.

Gogogo Giant  
ATK: 2000  
LEVEL: 4

"Now, I'll overlay my two monsters, to build the Overlay Network!" Both monsters turned fully orange, spiraling into the air, as they sailed into a Galaxy Portal. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Number 39! The King of Hope: Utopia!" The Warrior arose from its sealed form, and grabbed its two swords, letting out a cry of 'HOPE!'

Number 39: Utopia  
ATK: 2500  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 2

"With that, my turn's over!" Yuma declared.

"Nice, Yuma!" Shark said, before declaring, "My turn! Draw! I summon Double Fin Shark to the field!" Shark declared, as his monster, which looked like two sharks fused together, appeared out of a whirlpool of water.

Double Fin Shark  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 4

"And because I control a WATER-attribute monster, I Special Summon Silent Angler from my hand!" Shark declared, as an Angler fish rose out from under the sea depths.

Silent Angler  
ATK: 800  
LEVEL: 4

"Now, here comes the fun part!" Shark smirked, before throwing his hand up into the air, declaring, " Now, I overlay the Level 4 Double Fin Shark and Silent Angler!" Both FISH-type monster then turned fully blue, spiraling into the air. "With these two monsters, I create the Overlay Network!" A galaxy portal below the four duelists, both monsters sailing inside. "Come forth, Number 101!" Out of the portal, a huge warship arose, towering above even Utopia. Shark held his fist to his chest, a faint purple glow around him.

"Unappeased soul placed aboard the Ark… Rise up from the darkest abyss, that cannot even be touched by light!" Shark's pupils then shrunk, an added reverb effect to his voice, as he said, "XYZ SUMMON! Take to the skies, Silent Honor Ark Knight!"

Silent Honor Ark Knight  
ATK: 2100  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 2

"I'll place one card facedown. My turn's over!" Shark declared. "Now, Rio! Come at me!"

"Since you asked…" Rio quipped, putting her fingers on her deck. "My turn! Draw!" Rio looked at her card, smiling.

"I don't like that look she's got in her eye…" Yuma remarked, knowing what card the Ice Queen drew.

"The card I drew… was Rank-Up-Magic: The Seventh One!" Rio declared.

"That's the card she pulled on her first draw?!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Be careful, Yuma!" Kotori warned.

"With this I can Special Summon one Over-Hundred Number straight from my Extra Deck, so come on out, Number 103: Ragnazero!" The monster came straight out of its sealed form, wielding two scythes, and making it snow around her.

Number 103: Ragnazero  
ATK: 2400  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 0

"How pretty…" Yuzu stated, admiring her partner's monster.

"Now for the next part! With The Seventh One's effect, I can use it to Overlay Ragnazero with itself!" A portal opened up below Rangazero, who sunk into it. "Rise up, Infinite power that, even now, can freeze time!" Inside the portal, a door containing the Barian symbol on it, with the symbol glowing, opened. "Chaos Xyz… CHANGE! Please come forth! Chaos Number 103! The Funerary Sub-Maiden, Ragnafinity!"

The once ice-clad monster emerged out of the portal, now wearing black and purple robes, her ice scythe now a dark purple color.

Number C103: Ragnafinity  
ATK: 2400  
RANK: 5  
ORU: 1

"My turn's over!" Rio declared. "Yuzu, show 'em what you can do!"

Yuzu nodded. "My turn! Draw!" Yuzu looked at her hand, and then at the field. _"My hand isn't really that impressive… but, if I'm gonna take these two on, I'm gonna have to bring out the heavy artillery!"_ Yuzu pulled out a card from her hand, saying, "I activate the field spell, Fusion Gate!" The area around them turned into a portal space, a grid below their feet.

"What the-?!" Yuma went, looking at the change of field.

"She actually used a field spell designed for Fusions?" Kaito muttered to himself.

"And now, by banishing the two Melodious Divas, Aria and Opera, I can summon a Fusion monster!" Both monsters turned into yellow orbs of energy, swirling into a portal. "Echoing Melodious Voice! Drama of the worldview! With guidance of the baton, gather both your powers!" The portal shone behind Yuzu, as she clasped her hands, thrusting them down, declaring, "FUSION SUMMON!" The elgant monstress appeared from the portal, vocalizing in a harmony. "Now come forth to the stage! Schuberta the Melodious Maestra!"

Schuberta the Melodious Maestra  
ATK: 2400  
LEVEL: 6

"Wow!" Yuma remarked, impressed. "She uses Fusions! I heard that you were good, Yuzu, but not so good that you could try and summon one of your aces!"

Yuzu blushed in embarrassment, saying, "Stop it, stop it, please! Really!"

Kaito and Kotori marveled at the field. "Wooow…" Kotori remarked, in disbelief. "They actually summoned their aces on the first turn!"

Kaito smirked. "It just goes to show how good they are as duelists. A few years ago, if Yuma tried to duel here, he would get utterly stomped, and him and Shark would've never gotten along. But here they are, working together, and ready to fight together."

"Ready Shark?" Yuma asked his partner.

"Yeah!" Shark responed.

"Hey guys…"

A voice, which most of the people already knew all too well, but didn't want to believe it, said in an almost condescending tone. They all turned toward the source of the voice, and everyone, Kaito and Rio in particular, gasped in horror at the sight of the person.

"VECTOR!"

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

Yuya and his brothers were trekking through the forest, Yuto taking the lead, on their way to where Yuto got the call to meet his caller. All of a sudden, Yugo piped up, saying, "HEY YUTO~!"

"*sigh* What is it, Yugo?" Yuto asked, exasperated.

"When are we gonna get to this place? It feels like we've been wandering through here for 6 months!" Yugo whined.

"Oh, act your age, Yugo! We've only been walking for 10 minutes!" Yuto argued. "And besides, you're driving your Duel Runner! You shouldn't be whining about "

"Oh, yeah, that's rich! Make excuses for this never ending forest!" Yugo argued back. "At least I can actually talk to girls!" That last part made a vein appear on Yuto's head.

"You wanna go, banana brain?!" Yuto yelled.

"Bring it on, eggplant head!" Yugo fired back.

While the two eldest brothers were arguing, Yuri sensed a sensation in the back of his head, and he began to walk away from his brothers. Yuya, while trying to talk down his elder brothers, noticed Yuri walking away. "Hey! Yuri!" Yuya called out, making his brothers take notice.

"You three go ahead." Yuri told them. "There's still something that I have to do." Yuri closed his eyes, smiling at his brothers. "I'll catch up with you later, kay?"

With that, Yuri ran off, his brothers watching his back until he was out of sight.

* * *

"Please, Shun! Stop!" Droite pleaded.

"I said, I'm fine! Don't concern yourself with me!" Shun barked, his eyes having dark circles around them, and sweat dripping from his forehead.

"She's right! You're in no condition to duel!" Gauche told him, his hand on Shun's shoulder.

"Dammit, I don't need help!" Shun told him, pushing Gauche's hand off his shoulder. "All I have to focus on is winning! That's all that matters… and then she'll be safe!"

"Shun!" Yuto called out, the three coming out from behind the bushes, and were surprised to see the Raidraptor duelist in a duel, but he was shown to be losing, and in no shape to duel, either.

"Dammit, Yuto, *cough* what are you doing here?!" Shun asked, his voice raspy.

"Droite called us. She told us what was going on!" Yuto told him.

"Dammit, why would *cough* you do that?!" Shun asked again, angry.

"Hey, guy! You gonna duel me, or what?!" Shun's opponent asked, and Yuya and his brothers turned towards Shun's opponent, revealing it to be… Alit. "I don't have all day, you know!"

"Tch… I'll beat you, whether I've have this affliction or not!" Shun boasted, drawing his card.

 **Shun LP: 500  
Hand: 1**

 **Alit LP: 4000  
Hand: 0**

Shun's field: 1 monster, no facedowns

Raidraptor: Blaze Falcon  
ATK: 1000  
RANK: 5  
ORU: 0

Alit's field: 1 monster, 1 facedown

Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke  
ATK: 2200  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 2

"This isn't good! Shun's about to lose, and he only has one card in his hand!" Yugo noted, as he saw that Shun's breathing was getting heavier and heavier.

"I activate the Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic – Raid Force!" Shun shouted, inserting his card into his duel disk. "With this, I can Rank-Up one Xyz monster, and I choose my Blaze Falcon!" Blaze Falcon then turned into a ball of fire, evolving into something else. "Take the stage, oh Prideful Falcon! Spread your wings, dyed in the blood of heroes, and charge through the path of revolution!" The monster spread it's talons, letting out a roar. "Rank Up Xyz Change!" Shun declared, as he thrust his fist into the air. "Come forth, Rank 6! Raidraptor – Revolution Falcon!"

Raidraptor – Revolution Falcon  
ATK: 2000  
RANK: 6  
ORU: 1

"All right! Shun's got one of his best monsters out now!" Gauche exclaimed.

"Yes.." Yuto smiled.

"Now, with this, it's over!" Shun boasted, his breath haggard.

"Are you sure about that?" Alit smirked, which took Shun for surprise. "Trap Card, activate! Solemn Warning!"

"WHAT?!" Shun and Yuto cried, in unison.

"Thanks for summoning that monster! Because now, with this card, I can Negate that summon, as well as destroy it!" Alit explained, as Revolution Falcon was taken into the deep, dark abyss. "And all it cost me was 2000 Life Points!" the Barian snickered.

 **Alit LP: 4000 -2000  
Hand: 0**

"Dammit… It's over…" Shun lamented, dropping to his knees. _"I'm sorry… Yuzu… Serena… Rin… Ruri… I've failed you. Both as your brother… and your protector."_

"I guess it's my turn!" Alit drew his card, although he didn't intend to use it. "Yoke, take out the rest of his Life Points!" Yoke then winded up his fist, before slamming it into his opponent, sending the Raidraptor duelist flying. Shun only stopped as he slammed backfirst into a tree, causing the young man to cough up blood.

"SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNN!" Yuto screamed, as his friend hit the ground below him, with a lifeless thud.

 **Alit LP: 2000**

 **Shun LP: 0 – LOSER**

Gauche and Droite immediately rushed over to their teammates aid, trying to shake him awake. Yuto joined them, with a concerned look on his face.

"Shun! Are you okay?!" Yuto called. "SHUN! ANSWER ME, DAMMIT! SHUN!"

"Damn! He's out! That poison really did a number on him!" Gauche said, checking for a pulse.

"Poison?" Yuya asked.

"Vector came here before the duel even started, and stuck some sort of needle in the back of his neck... then he started to get sick during the duel, and one thing led to another…" Gauche explained.

"Vector? Who is this Vector guy?" Yuya asked.

"Serves him right!" Alit mocked, angering Yuto. "Talking all that anime protag talk, saying, 'I will protect all those important to me!' Give me a break!"

"Hey! Don't you-!" Yuya started, but was interrupted by Yuto's outstretched arm. A look of anger and determination was planted on the Knight's face.

"Yuto?" Yuya asked, concerned for his older brother.

"First off… Yugo. Take Shun to the hospital, and don't stop until you get there." Yuto commanded, looking at his younger brother.

"Got it, bro!" Yugo complied, as he carried Shun's limp body, before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll go with you." Droite told the riding duelist.

"Fine, fine!" Yugo groaned, his eyes half-lidded. "Just don't scuff it up." The two (three if you count the deadweight Shun) got on the Duel Runner, and sped off.

"Second… Yuya." Yuto continued, getting his youngest brother's attention. "If I lose myself… I need you to stop me." Yuya nodded, a slight look of worry on his face.

"And Third..." Yuto then pointed at Alit. "I'm gonna kick your ass."

* * *

"That's absurd, Serena!" Michael argued with the Lunalight duelist.

"It's the truth! I saw it with my own eyes!" Serena argued back.

"Even if that were the truth, what would Vector want with Yuzu, anyway?" Thomas asked.

"I don't know, exactly. All I know is, that it's called the 'New World' plan. And the Barian told me that he needs to be stopped!" Serena explained.

"Okay, but Vector isn't exactly tailing around with Don Thousand these days. Where and how does he come into play into this?" Chris asked, his finger on his chin.

"You can ask him yourself." A voice said, startling the four. A figure wandered out from behind a tree, revealing it to be Vector. "But even if you ask, I won't tell you a single thing!"

"Vector!" Serena growled.

"What the hell… is this really him?! He doesn't seem the same." Thomas noted, feeling a dark aura around the Barian.

"Tell me what you want with my little sister!" Serena angrily demanded.

"I'll only tell you… If you join me, my sweet!" Vector taunted, his face becoming twisted at the second part of the sentence.

"Screw you!" Serena spat.

Vector sighed. "I gave you an easy way out… Oh well." Vector readied his duel disk. "Then the time for talk is over. Now we talk with our cards!"

"Hold it." Another voice called out. A portal opened up beside the Arclight brothers, out coming a young boy, his blond hair braided in a ponytail, and his most distinctive feature was his mask, which covered half his face. "Don't touch my sons."

"Father!" Chris, Thomas, and Michael called out in unison.

"Father?" Serena asked. She looked at the boy. "Why are your sons taller than you?"

"Long story." Tron replied.

"So… Tron. You're here to impede on my plans." Vector growled.

"No. I'm just here to slow you down." Tron said, as he readied his duel disk.

"I'll join too. I've been on the sidelines for far too long, and it's time for me to get some exercise!" Serena told Tron, standing beside him.

Tron whistled. "Looks like we've got an advantage over him. Let's tread lightly, though."

"Understood." Serena agreed.

"DUEL!"

* * *

 **Sorry if my writing is slightly shoddy. ^^;**


	17. Backs Aginst The Wall

**You know what? No more excuses, I want to explain to you guys what's been going on with me.**

 **But first, enjoy.**

* * *

 **Alit LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Yuto LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

"I'll go first!" Alit declared, and looked at his hand. "I summon Battlin' Boxer Headgeared!" Alit declared, with the monster coming of a portal, taking a boxing stance.

Battlin' Boxer Headgeared  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 4

"Headgeared's effect activates! I can send one Battlin' Boxer monster from my Deck to the Graveyard!" Alit declared, sending one card from his deck to the Graveyard. "Next, I activate the Spell Card, Battlin' Boxing Spirits!"

Yuto remained still.

"This card allows me to send the top card from my Deck to my Graveyard!" Alit then did just that, then he picked one card from his Graveyard. "And what takes with one hand, gives with the other! Because now, I can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard, and that card is, Battlin' Boxer Switchitter!" The next monster came out of a portal, and this one was a mechanical robot, wearing a hoodie, and boxing gloves.

Battlin' Boxer Switchitter  
ATK: 1500  
LEVEL: 4

"Oh, but if you think I'm done, you're sorely mistaken! Switchitter's effect activates! I can Special Summon one Battlin' Boxer from my Graveyard. I Special Summon Battlin' Boxer Veil in Defense Mode!" Yet another monster came out of a portal, shielding himself with his shield on his arms.

Battlin' Boxer Veil  
DEF: 1800  
LEVEL: 4

"Whoa, what the heck?!" Yuya exclaimed.

"This is his strategy." Gauche replied. "He also used it against Shun. He tries to summon as much monsters as possible on his field, in order to call out the monster that he wants. But why did he bring out 3 of them…?"

Alit smirked, striking a pose, roaring. "All right! Now I'm fired up! I overlay my 3 Battlin' Boxer's to build the overlay network!" All 3 of Alit's monsters turned red, spiraling into the air, and inside of a galaxy portal. "Xyz Summon!" The monster rose up, in its sealed form. "Come forth, Number 105! Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus!" The monster unfolded out of its sealed form, clenching his fist, its red eyes glowing.

Number 105: Battlin Boxer Star Cestus  
ATK: 2500  
RANK: 4  
ORU: 3

"With that, my turn's over!" Alit said, smirking. "So what do you think? You impressed?"

Yuto stood there, saying nothing.

"Aw, you so intimidated that you can't say words? I can understand your fear!" Alit sneered, striking a 'heroic' pose. "I mean, I AM one of the Seven Barian Emperors, after all!"

"Is that all you've got, amateur?" Yuto finally spoke.

* * *

"DUEL!"

 **Serena LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

 **Tron LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Vector LP: 4000  
Hand: 5**

"I'll be taking the first turn in this duel!" Vector began, pulling a card from his hand. "And it all starts with this: The Spell Card, Polymerization!"

"What?!" Serena said, her eyes widening.

"Why is he starting off with a Fusion Monster?!" Michael asked, in disbelief.

"I fuse my Umbral Horror Unform and Will o' Wisp, to create a fusion nightmare!" Vector said, the two monsters swirling into a portal. "When the night falls, and there is no hope left in people's hearts, this warrior will appear to reap their bodies and souls!" the portal shone a murky purple. "Fusion Summon! Bow to me, Umbral Terror Headless Horseman!"

The cry of a horse was heard, followed by the Dark Horse and it's rider (with blue flames coming out of the armor) the knight then pointed his lance at his opponents.

 **Umbral Terror Headless Horseman  
ATK: 2400  
LEVEL: 4**

"Hm. So that's what he's looking for." Tron said, his face unchanged.

"W-Whoa…" Serena marvelled, her arm visibly shaking, before she grabbed it, making it stop. "What's this pressure that I'm feeling?!"

"Headless Horseman's effect activates!" Vector said, his monster grabbing its lance, and held it into the air. "When this monster is Fusion Summoned, I can add Attack Points to my Horseman, with the two cards in my hand, and its 5 levels, and it can multiply it by 100!

2 Cards in Hand + 5 Levels = 7 x 100 = 700

 **Umbral Terror Headless Horseman  
ATK: 2400 - 3100**

"And my turn is over!" Vector remarked.

Serena, wiping a bead of sweat off of her forehead, looked at her hand. _"Okay, that monster got a huge buff in the beginning of this duel… But I know that I can win!"_ Serena put her hand on her deck. _"Please… Help me…"_ Serena looked at Vector, with determined eyes. "It's my-!"

" _SERENA~!"_

Serena looked in the direction of the voice, and felt herself get tackled to the ground. She looked at the person that tackled her, seeing the familiar purple-fuchsia hair, with a smile on his face.

"Yuri?!" Serena asked, in disbelief.

"I sensed you were in trouble, my dear!" Yuri explained, as he rubbed his cheek on hers, "So I rushed over here as quick as I could to be your knight in shining armor!"

Serena shoved Yuri off of her, clenching her fist. "I don't even need your help, you dainty little boy! And how the hell did you even know my exact location anyways?!"

"I sensed you, like I said!" Yuri pressed. Then, Serena heard a beeping noise behind her head. "What the hell…" Then she pulled out a tracking device from her bow. "When did you even put this on me?!

"I've never even seen that before!" Yuri retorted. "Besides, I put it there when you were sleeping…" the Predaplant user muttered.

"YURI, YOU ARE A STALKER INCARNATE!" Serena said, screaming in Yuri's ear. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a duel to win!" the Lunalight user then drew her card. "Damn. I place three cards facedown, and end my turn!" Three cards appeared, one of them being a monster, on her field.

"My turn. Draw." Tron drew his card. "I place one monster facedown, to end my turn."

Vector laughed. "Is that all you've got? You're just weak!"

" _Damn it…"_ Yuri mentally cursed, before he put his deck into his duel disk. "No, she isn't, you freak!" Yuri's disk blade came out of the duel disk, readying himself. "I'll take care of you!"

" **INTRUSION PENALTY. MINUS 2000 LIFE POINTS."**

"Wait, wha-" Yuri realized, before he was comically shocked by his duel disk, causing him to fall on the ground. As he lay on the ground, Yuri's leg twitched.

 **Yuri LP: 4000 - 2000  
Hand: 5**

"Do you know him?" Tron asked.

"Right now, I wish I never did!" Serena retorted, her cheeks puffing out.

Yuri got right back up, drawing his card. "First off, I'll play the Spell Card, Card Destruction. This makes all players send their hands to the Graveyard, and draw the same number that we discarded." Yuri explained, as each player discarded and redrew the same number of cards.

Serena looked at her hand, realizing that she hand the perfect number of cards to create a Fusion monster. _"Unbelievable, he it's like he knew what I needed in this moment!"_

"And now, I activate the Spell Card, Dowsing Fusion. This allows me to summon a Fusion monster, using monsters in my Graveyard." Yuri explained. "I fuse Predaplant Cephalotusnail with Predaplant Flytrap!" The Predaplant user said, as both monsters appeared behind him, swirling into a portal. "Fusion Summon! Come forth, my weapon of botanical proportions! Predaplant Dragostapelia!" The monster that emerged from the portal in a cloud of poison, spreading its wings, and roaring at its opponent.

Predaplant Dragostapelia  
ATK: 2700  
LEVEL: 8

"Dragostapelia's effect activates! Once per turn, I can place one Predator Counter on one of your monster, negate its effects, as well as reduce its level to 1. And since you only have one monster…" Yuri explained, as the Predator Counter latched itself onto Vector's monster.

 **Umbral Terror Headless Horseman  
ATK: 3100 - 2400  
LEVEL: 5 - 1**

"Damn it…" Vector cursed.

"Now, since I've never summoned a monster this turn, I summon Predaplant Squid Drosera." Yuri said, his monster appearing beside him.

Predaplant Squid Drosera  
ATK: 800  
LEVEL: 2

"And now, I activate the Spell Card, Ivy Bind Castle." Yuri said, his card appearing next to him. "Want to know what this card does?"

"I rather you end your turn!" Vector barked back.

Yuri had a wide smile on his face, and said, "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. Turn end."

" _Wow… he's such an idiot, but at times, I can forget that he's an skilled duelist! Unbelievable!"_ Serena thought.

"HEY~! Serena, dear! Did I do good on this turn?" Yuri said, waving his arms, and sounding like a child.

" _Aaaaand there's the idiot side of him again."_ Serena thought, giving him a 'really?' look.

* * *

"How much further?" Droite asked, holding onto Yugo.

"Not much!" Yugo replied. He then looked at Shun's faint body. "How is he?"

"Not good. He needs a hospital! Now!" Droite told him.

"Yeah, I know! I'm going as fast as I can!" Yugo said, pushing his foot on the gas. But all of a sudden, he saw a figure run out of the bushes, and skidded his Duel Runner to a stop. The figure was a boy, and the boy had spiked yellow hair, and purple eyes.

Yugo, getting off his duel runners, asked, "What the hell are you doing? Didn't your parents tell you not to run in front of people on vehicles, jerk?"

The boy sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, just clumsy, I guess. Oh, yeah! That reminds me! I lost all of my medals! Some ruffians jumped me, and made off with them! Sucks, too, because I had all the required ones and more…"

Yugo's face lit up, in hope. "Hey, you know, we really need to get someone to a hospital, but we can totally help you with your problem! Me and Droite can definitely help you out! Right, Dro- " Yugo was suddenly cut off with a red beam emitting from the Butterspy duelist's wrist.

"You honestly thought that I could be so stupid?! Did you honestly think I would forget what you looked like, just because you act a different way? It's all over now, Vector!" Droite said, a look of hatred on her face.

"Vector? Wait, what's going on? From the way you were talking about him earlier, you made him out to be the Devil incarnate!" Yugo said, clearly confused at the events that transpired before him.

"That is merely the mask. He makes you believe that he bhaves a certain way, but then he'll turn on you in the most unexpected way possible. Yuma knows this firsthand." Droite explained.

"Oh… Wait, who in the hell is Yuma?" Yugo asked, confused.

"I must commend you, Lady Droite. You went from being nothing with a lifeless infatuation, to being nothing challenging a dinosaur." Vector said, applauding. "But I have to disappoint you, unfortunately. I don't duel weak people."

"If you don't want to duel, then you can fight! Take this!" Yugo said, charging at him with his fist.

"I don't wish to deal with this now." Vector muttered, taking a sphere into his hands, and throwing it at the duo (trio, if we count the downed Shun), enveloping them in a blinding light. "See you in a while, ladies and gentlemen."

"D-Damn it!" Yugo cursed, shielding his eyes.

"What is going on?!" Droite, averting her eyes to the light as well, inquired.

When the light died down, the two found themselves in a confound sight: they had been teleported in front of the hospital, at the entrance, no less! Just before the two could collect their thoughts, two doctors came out of the entrance, asking, "Who's hurt?"

"Huh?" Yugo asked, before realizing what the doctor was asking. "Oh yeah, that's right! This man, right here got poisoned with a poison dart about, 20 minutes ago! He's getting worse by the minute! You gotta help him, please!"

"Okay, we'll take care of him, now!" the doctor put Shun on a gurney, who began to breathe shallow breaths.

"Y-Y…" Shun breathed.

"Don't try to move! The poison will spread through your body quicker!"

"Yuzu… please…"

* * *

"My turn. Draw." Serena drew her card. _"Okay, Yuri and Vector went out big in the beginning, so that's just what I need to do, too!"_ Serena picked a card from her hand, saying, "I activate the Field Spell, Fusion Gate!" the entire field became enveloped in a Fusion Space. "And now, I fuse, from my hand, both Lunalights Blue Cat and Crimson Fox!" Both felines swirled into a portal. "Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Fox enveloped in the moon's glow! Through the moon's gravity, become one, and unveil your new power!" A bright light shone from the portal, before Serena clasped her hands together, shouting out, "FUSION SUMMON!" Out of the light, her signature fusion monster came out. "Come forth, Lunalight Cat Dancer!"

Lunalight Cat Dancer  
ATK: 2400  
LEVEL: 7

"So what? It doesn't have enough ATK to take down my Headless Horseman!" Vector sneered.

"That's where this comes into play!" Serena declared, pulling a card from her hand, revealing it to be… "Polymerization!"

"What the?!"

"I see. So that was his plan." Chris mused, getting both his brothers attention. "Yuri used Card Destruction, knowing that he could give Serena tools she needed to win the duel, for herself."

"That's ridiculous!" Thomas argued. "How could he have known that, if only by pure luck?!"

"Maybe he really did sense it…" Michael wondered.

"Now, I fuse my Cat Dancer with the Lunalight Black Sheep in my hand!" Serena declared, both monsters swirling into a portal once again. "Beautiful Beast, dancing in the moonlight! Sheep that evades the moon's gaze! Through the moon's gravity, become one, and unveil your new power!" The portal shone with a bright light, enveloping Serena, as she clasped her hands. "FUSION SUMMON!" Serena's second fusion monster arose from the light. "Come forth! Wondrous beast dancing in the moonlit jungle! Lunalight Panther Dancer!"

Lunalight Panther Dancer  
ATK: 2800  
LEVEL: 8

"2-2800 ATK?" Vector whimpered.

"That's right!" Serena went, pumping her fist. "And it's 2800 ATK of pain rushing right at you!"

A visible bead of sweat dripped down Vector's face. _"Panther Dancer has the effect of attacking twice, and if I bring out another monster, I'm completely done for! And that's not even telling what Tron will bring out, if I give him the chance!"_ Vector looked at his hand, angry that he had nothing but useless Trap Cards. "Dammit…"

" _LEAVE."_

"Huh?" Vector asked, getting confused.

" _They are not who you are after. Yuzu Hiragi is. Did you forget that?"_

"Hm." Vector laughed.

"Time for Battle!" Serena declared.

"No!" Vector suddenly shouted. "It's time… **FOR THIS!** " The Barian pulled out an active grenade from his jacket.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Chris shouted.

"So long!" Vector threw the Grenade on the ground, but instead of an explosion, rather, it was a blinding light, enveloping the duelists and spectators in the process.

When the light died down, it seemed that Vector had gotten away.

"Damn it all…" Yuri cursed.

"Aw," Tron shrugged. "I didn't even get to have my turn!" The boy then turned to Yuri. "You sure came through for us, and made sure that Vector turned away, with his tail between his legs!"

"Thanks!" Yuri said. "…who are you again?"

"Byron Arclight, but for the sake of simplicity, call me Tron." Tron said, outstretching his hand, to greet him.

"Nice to meet you, Byron!" Yuri greeted. "What's up with the mask on his face?" he then whispered to Serena.

* * *

"My turn! Draw!" Yuto drew his card. "I place 2 Cards facedown." Yuto declared, two cards appearing on his side of the field, one of them being a monster. "Turn End."

"WAHAHAHA! THAT'S seriously the best you could do, with your turn?" Alit mocked. "My turn! Draw!" Alit smirked at the card he drew. "I set down 1 card!" Alit declared, his card appearing on his field. "Now, Star Cestus! Attack Yuto's facedown monster!" The boxer stuck down Yuto's facedown, revealing to be The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots.

"Damn!" Yuto cursed, a rare moment for the eggplant. "Because you destroyed one of my 'Phantom Knights', I Special Summon, from my hand, The Phantom Knights of Fragile Armor!" he explained, as the knighted phantom took the field.

The Phantom Knights of Fragile Armor  
ATK: 1000  
LEVEL: 4

"Hmpf. A fitting effect… for a coward. My turn's over!" Alit declared.

"Grrr…" My turn!" Yuto declared, drawing another card. "Trap Card, open! The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine!"

The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine  
ATK: 0  
LEVEL: 4

"What good will that Trap do him?" Gauche wondered.

"Lots!" Yuya answered. "Yuto doesn't rely on actual Traps to do his dirty work, he uses them as monsters to Xyz summon!"

"I see!" Gauche replied.

"And now, I overlay my Fragile Armor with my Shade Brigadine to build the overlay network!" Yuto declared, both his monsters swirling into a galaxy portal. "Fangs formed from the pitch-black darkness, rise up and fight the foolish oppression! Now, descend before us!" Yuto chanted, his monster forming. "Xyz Summon! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon  
RANK: 4  
ATK: 2500  
ORU: 2

"Dark Rebellion's effect activates! When I have an Overlay Unit, I can target one of your monsters and halve its ATK! Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon  
ATK: 2500 - 3750  
ORU: 2 - 1

Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus  
ATK: 2500 - 1250

"And now, I can do it again!" Yuto declared. "Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon  
ATK: 3750 - 4375  
ORU: 1 - 0

Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus  
ATK: 1250 - 625

"All right! Now he has all the tools he needs to win this!" Yuya cheered.

"Now, go, Dark Rebellion! Strike down all those foolish to oppose you! Lightning Rebellion… DISOBEY!" Yuto ordered, his monster charging towards his opponent.

"Sorry! Not happening!" Alit teased, winking. "I activate Star Cestus' Special Effect! By removing one Overlay Unit, I can negate the effects of your monster, during the Battle Phase!"

Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus  
ORU: 3 - 2

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon  
ATK: 4375 - 2500

"What?!" Yuto cried.

"Oh, but here comes the fun part!" Alit continued. "You can't use its effect again until the end of the turn! But since you wasted it…"

"I can't use it again!" Yuto realized, gritting his teeth.

"Oh no… Yuto…" Yuya said, concerned for his older brother.

"So… What will he do to get out of this one, Yuya?" Gauche asked the tomato.

"Face it, Yuto, you're just as bad as Shun, and when I get finished with you, you're gonna wish that you were with him…" Alit giggled, turning it into a huge evil laugh.

* * *

Fan-Made Cards

 **Umbral Terror Headless Horseman**

 **Fiend/Fusion/Effect  
LEVEL: 5  
Attribute: DARK  
ATK: 2400/DEF: 2100**

 **Effect:** 2 "Umbral Horror" Monsters  
When this card is Fusion Summoned, increase this monster's ATK by the total number of card in your hand x this monster's level x 100. When this monster attack a Defense Position monster, inflict Piercing Damage to your opponent. **  
**

* * *

 **Okay, now that I've finally gotten that out of my system: I'll be completely honest: I don't really care for this story, anymore. Now, before you get on a thing and leave negative reviews, hear me out! Ever since Arc-V's ending last year, I just fell out of love with the Yu-Gi-Oh Story, and the lore. I still love the characters, and the designs, but continuing this story, when I want to do so many other things, is really, really time consuming, not to mention the fact I started this story as a High School Junior, and now I'm a college Freshman. I have so many new ideas, and I don't want to b bogged down by this story forever.**

 **So here's what's going to happen. If someone, anyone, would be willing to work with me on this story, I'd appreciate it.**

 **Just remember, this isn't goodbye, it's just "See you later". :)**


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